


Domestic Fluff Anthology

by Proudmoore



Category: Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies), Wonder Woman (2017)
Genre: AU, Academy Era, F/F, F/M, Fluff, M/M, Modern AU, Reader Insert
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-22
Updated: 2018-11-21
Packaged: 2019-08-27 11:24:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 21
Words: 25,500
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16701604
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Proudmoore/pseuds/Proudmoore
Summary: A collection of fluffy ficlets written for my 1000 follower celebration on Tumblr.





	1. McKirk - Nighttime Routine

Jim flipped the book in his hands closed and sighed contentedly, running his palm over the faded and creased back cover, staring at the illustration above the summary.  It was his sixth read through of the classic, but no matter how many times he read it, he could never get enough of The Mysterious Island.  It reminded him of his youth, and truth be told, it was one of the many tales of exploration and adventure that had helped to solidify his decision to join Starfleet.

Leonard glanced over from where he’d been perusing a medical journal on his PADD, taking in Jim’s small smile and faraway expression.

“Finished already?”  He asked, locking the PADD and setting it aside to charge.

“It helps that I’ve read it so many times,’ Jim said with a shrug.  “You’ll have to give it a try some time - I think you might like it.”

“I’ll tell you what,” Leonard postulated.  “If you can find me enough free time in which to catch up on academic journals  _and_  read for leisure, and I’ll do it.

“I could just suspend you from duty for a week,” Jim mused aloud, grinning mischievously.

“Smart ass,” Leonard said with a roll of his eyes, reaching over and playfully smacking Jim on the thigh.

Jim laughed and the sound warmed Leonard through and through.  They had had too many close calls and near misses in the last few years for him to ever take the sound of Jim’s laughter for granted, and he only wished he could hear it even more often than in such few and far between private moments.  
  
“It’s late,” Jim’s voice interrupted his thoughts.  “We should get to bed if we want to be rested for tomorrow’s away mission.”

Leonard groaned and rolled his eyes.

“You had to remind me,” he groused.

Jim smiled one of his trademark thousand-watt smiles and got to his feet, holding a hand out to Leonard.

“C’mon, Bones,” Jim said brightly.  “It’ll be fun!”

Leonard raised a skeptical eyebrow but took the proffered hand, standing and trailing into the bedroom with his hand still clasped in Jim’s.  The younger man tugged him over toward the closet, squeezing his hand once before letting go.  Jim opened the closet and the two of them stepped forward to retrieve their pajamas.  With their clothes in hand, they headed into the adjoining bathroom.

Even in shared quarters the bathrooms left a lot to be desired and barely allowed them to stand side by side with enough room to spare to wash up.  They’d been together for long enough, first as friends and then as so much more, that they were used to each other, though, and it was hardly an issue.

Jim stripped and stepped into the shower first, leaving enough space for Leonard to join him.  Most nights it was a quick sonic shower for each of them and then off to bed, but Jim knew that it was one of those nights where the hot water would do them good and so he keyed his authorization code into the shower, accessing his weekly water allowance and setting things for when Leonard was ready.

The older man stepped into the shower a few moments later, pulling the sliding glass door closed and moving in close to his partner.  He met Jim’s ocean blue eyes and rested his hands on the captain’s waist, stroking his thumbs over Jim’s skin.

“Is it too soon after the last one to say I need another vacation?”  Leonard murmured.

The usually-joking captain’s expression softened into something more sincere and he reached up, gently cupping Leonard’s cheek and searching the other man’s gaze.

“Being out here is really getting to you,”  Jim said softly - a statement, not a question.

Leonard let out a long, heavy sigh and shook his head, turning his face to press a kiss to Jim’s palm.

“I’m just already looking forward to when I can finally take you home to meet the family,” Leonard replied.  “It feels impossibly far away sometimes.”

Jim twined his arms around Leonard, pulling the other man in closer, pressing a soft kiss to the doctor’s lips and letting their foreheads rest together.

“Two more years,” Jim assured him.  “We’re more than half way through this.”

Leonard nodded and seemed to pull himself together, sobering and reaching around Jim to activate the spray.  He smiled when the younger man yelped at the sudden deluge and stepped back just enough that he could get a loofah between them.

The water ran out all too soon, but Leonard couldn’t deny that he’d desperately needed the heat on his stiff muscles and Jim’s touch on his skin.  He climbed out of the shower reluctantly, toweling himself off while Jim did the same.  The silence between them was knowing and companionable, and Leonard had no desire to break it.

He dressed as Jim brushed his teeth and as much as he admired the hard contours of Jim’s body and the way his muscles stretched and bunched under his skin, he knew they were both too tired to do anything but fall into bed and sleep.  It was just as well - the sex was always better after the adrenaline of an away mission anyway.

As Jim finished up, Leonard took his place at the sink.  He grimaced at the strong, burning quality of the toothpaste, earning himself a chuckle from Jim.  He rolled his eyes and shook his head and he rinsed and spit, and turned around to face the captain.

“I’m ready for my kiss goodnight,” Leonard drawled teasingly.

“Come to bed and I’ll kiss you all night long,” Jim shot back, reaching out to tug on the ties to Leonard’s pajama pants.

Leonard stepped forward, chasing Jim’s pull so the ties didn’t come undone.  He braced his hands on Jim’s chest, pushing the younger man backward out of the bathroom and toward the bed.  Jim stumbled along awkwardly but allowed himself to be led, trusting Bones not to walk him into anything.  When the backs of his knees hit the bed, he sat down and scooted over, giving Leonard plenty of space to join him.  
  
As Leonard slipped beneath the covers on his side of the bed, Jim rolled around beside him until he was able to liberate the edge of the blanket under him and join the other man.  As he adjusted the covers, he realized that Leonard was already lying down on his side with an arm extended over his pillow.

“Does this mean I get to be the little spoon tonight?”  Jim asked softly.

“You always get to be the little spoon,” Leonard replied.  “C’mere.  I just want to hold you tonight.”

Jim could easily have made some kind of a teasing remark, but the undercurrent of vulnerability in Leonard’s voice made him consider otherwise.  Instead, he simply shuffled into the space against Leonard’s chest, resting his head on the other man’s arm and sighing contentedly as Leonard’s other arm gathered him close and draped over his waist.

“G’night, Bones,” Jim whispered, closing his eyes.

“Goodnight,” Leonard murmured, tipping his head forward and nuzzling his face into the crook of Jim’s neck.

With each other as anchors, pillars of strength in the abyss of space, the two of them fell into a deep, easy sleep.  Neither’s soft snores woke the other, and for a few hours it didn’t matter where they were or what the following day held - they had each other and they were at peace, and that was all that mattered.


	2. McKirk - Homework

The first time Leonard had spotted Jim hovering in the Academy’s clinic’s waiting room, he’d stopped in his tracks and beckoned the other man over.  After discovering Jim was hanging around just for homework help, he’d promptly admonished the younger man and sent him packing.  He’d gone back to his duties with a promise that he’d help Jim out later.

The second time, Leonard had rolled his eyes as Jim had held up a PADD with a pleading look on his face.  He’d shaken his head and gone back to his work, ducking into a patient room before Jim could get a hold of him and beg him for homework help again.

The third time, Leonard had peeked cautiously out from around a corner and spied Jim before the other man even knew he was there.  He’d averted his gaze and kept it on his PADD as he’d cruised by the reception desk, making an escape without so much as acknowledging Jim’s presence, hoping the other man would  _finally_  get the hint and leave the homework for later. 

On his fourth pass by the waiting area, Leonard was pleasantly surprised to find it devoid of Jim.  Straightening up from the way he’d been creeping around, he strode contentedly past the receptionist at the desk and made his way to the next exam room.  He stepped into the room as the door slid open to allow him entry and glanced down at the PADD to check the patient’s name.  When he saw what was highlighted in the chart, he cursed inwardly.

“Unbelievable,” Leonard muttered as he glanced up to see Jim’s smiling face staring back at him from up on the bio bed.

“You’ve gotta help me, Bones,” Jim pleaded, his expression going from grinning to crestfallen in a heartbeat.  “This xenobiology homework is killing me.  How do you keep all the terminology straight?!”

“I told you not to take a xenobiology elective,” Leonard groused by way of response.  “I don’t have time for this right now - I’ll help you later.  Unless you’re here for that physical you’ve been avoiding for weeks, in which case I could probably make an exception…”

Jim looked wary and hesitated a moment before rolling his eyes with an exasperated sigh.

“You drive a hard bargain,” he replied.  “But I’m desperate.  Just warn a guy before you stick a needle in his neck; I swear I wouldn’t avoid you so much if you weren’t so hypo happy.”

Leonard rolled his eyes but agreed with a nod.  He reached for a tricorder as Jim flipped open some notes on his PADD.  Opening an entry on common prefixes in biology, Jim fixed his gaze on a particular paragraph as Leonard approached him and waved the tricoder slowly over him.

“Like this,” Jim pointed out.  “The prefix for toward or near can be any of ad-, ac-, af-, ag-, al-, ap-, as-, or at-.  How am I supposed to keep that all straight?!”

Leonard watched Jim’s heart rate steadily creep up on the holoscreen over the bio bed as the younger man grew increasingly frustrated with the terminology.  Reaching out, he splayed a palm over Jim’s chest, right above his heart, and earned himself a glance up from Jim’s notes.

“Relax,” Leonard gentled.  “You’ll get the hang of this, just like you get the hang of everything else.  Look for the pattern.  In all of those cases aside from the first one, the letter following the A is a double letter, like the double F in afferent, which means…”

“Toward,” Jim said confidently.  “Just like in adhesion and adsorption.”

Leonard smiled and nodded, letting his hand slip from Jim’s chest and come to rest on the other man’s thigh instead.  Setting his tricorder aside, Leonard leaned his forehead against Jim’s and reached up, gently running his fingers through Jim’s hair.

“You know your stuff,” Leonard assured him.  “Don’t focus on those tiny details - you know what each of those terms mean, there’s no sense getting hung up on prefixes and suffixes.  Now, you need to breathe and take a break before I decide to sedate you.”

Jim rolled his eyes but nodded, his nose bumping Leonard’s in the process.  He angled his head up just the smallest bit, just enough to catch Bones’ lips with his own, and kissed the other man briefly, softly.  They pulled apart a moment later and Jim glanced warily up at Bones, who quirked an eyebrow in response to the expression.

“Is this the part where you give me my shots and send me on my way?”  Jim asked, eyeing both of Leonard’s blessedly empty hands.

Leonard barked out a laugh and shook his head, holding his hands up like he’d laid down arms.

“You’re all up to date right now,” Leonard assured.  “No needles.  Just promise me you’ll come in on time next time and I’ll promise not to ambush you when you  _do_  need shots in the future.”

Jim shifted over so his knees were no longer bumping Leonard’s thighs and slipped off of the exam table, palming his PADD and giving the doctor a wave as he made for the door.

“I’ll think about it,” Jim replied.  “Thanks for the help, Bones!  I’ve got some more review to do, but I’ll catch you later!”

“Hey!” Leonard called out at Jim’s hastily retreating form.  “I wasn’t done with you!”

“I’ve got places to be!”  Jim shot back, turning the corner out of sight.  “You can finish with me later.”

The double entendre was not lost on Leonard and he simply shook his head, closing out Jim’s chart and heading off to see his next patient, his head full of all of the sorts of things he planned on doing to Jim later on that night.


	3. McKirk - Waking Up Together

Leonard was already awake when the alarm went off, but the annoying, incessant beeping took a moment or two to rouse Jim.  When it did, Leonard watched the younger man’s eyes shut a little tighter and his expression sour as the fact that morning had come sank in.  As Jim slowly came around a little, Leonard shifted so he was on his side facing his lover and reached out to trail his fingertips over Jim’s cheek.

“Fv mr mnts,” Jim mumbled sleepily, nuzzling toward Leonard’s hand.

“If I give you five, you’ll want five more,” Leonard whispered teasingly.  “You always do.”

Jim made a distinctly displeased noise and turned over clumsily, burrowing his face into his pillow.

“Come out of there,” Leonard admonished gently.  “You’ll suffocate and leave Spock the captaincy.”

Jim lifted his head just enough to be able to breathe and huffed out a breath.

“We’re adrift in deep space,” he complained.  “Even if I’m late to the bridge I don’t think it’s going to be a problem.”

Leonard ran a hand through Jim’s unkempt hair and pushed away from him, sitting up and swinging his legs over the edge of the bed.

“I’m going to make coffee,” Leonard insisted.  “Pull yourself together and meet me out there or else I won’t make you breakfast.”

“The replicator’s making breakfast,” Jim needled.

“Semantics,” Leonard called over his shoulder as he turned and made his way out of the room.

Jim couldn’t help but smile at Leonard’s usual lack of tolerance for his antics and while the bed’s draw was nearly impossible to resist, he did manage to swing his legs over the edge of the bed at long last and get to preparing for his day.  He stripped off his pajama bottoms and tossed them in the hamper on the way by, making his way into the bathroom to freshen up a little.

Even over the shaving cream and the toothpaste, Jim could smell the coffee Bones had replicated two rooms over.  He tried to hurry up a little as he shaved so he could get at the stuff sooner, but he was stopped dead with a few small streaks of shaving cream still clinging to his face as Bones joined him in the bathroom.  The other man’s sudden appearance spooked him and he hissed as the razor bit into his skin.

“I can’t even leave you alone to shave without you getting hurt,” Leonard teased good-naturedly as he picked up a cloth and ran it under cold water.

Stepping closer to Jim, he reached up and gently dabbed at the small injury, cleaning away a droplet of blood and soothing the wound.

“I swear you bring it out in me,” Jim murmured in response.

Leonard chuckled softly and leaned in to press a soft kiss to Jim’s lips.  Jim reciprocated, deepening the kiss just a little before pulling away again.

“We’re going to be late for work,” he whispered.

“Oh, now you’re concerned?” Leonard drawled, rolling his eyes.  “Maybe if you’d gotten up on time I could have spent a little while longer kissing you.”

“Tease,” Jim bit out as he turned to the mirror to finish shaving.

“Brat,” Leonard shot back, sidling up to Jim to get his own shaving done.

Ten minutes later, both men were dressed and ready to go.  They stood opposite one another at the counter in the kitchenette, nursing mugs of replicated coffee and mentally steeling themselves for another day in the black.  They finished their coffees in silence and headed for the door, stopping just short of it.

“I’ll see you at the end of Alpha,” Jim said softly, leaning in for one last kiss.

“Or sooner, if you’re not careful,” Leonard teased with a grin.

“Are you sassing your captain, Dr. McCoy?”  Jim asked, feigning indignation.

“Wouldn’t dream of it,” Leonard replied.

And with that they made their way out the door and off to their separate corners of the ship with the memories of one another’s kisses fresh in their minds.


	4. McKirk - Washing Dishes

“Unbelievable.”

Leonard groaned inwardly and cursed as the lights in the kitchen flickered and died while rain continued to fall outside; he’d been in the middle of loading the dishwasher after a later supper.  Wicked winds had been whipping around them for hours and it appeared as though they’d knocked the power in the house out.  Glancing out the window, Leonard could tell the entire block was dark and the only reprieve they had from the darkness was the occasional bolt of lightning that illuminated things for a second before giving way to more shadow.

“Don’t we get enough of this in space?”  He muttered.  “Now we’ve got to have it on shore leave, too?”

“Lighten up, Bones,” Jim said from a few feet away, grinning at his own pun.  “It’s not that bad.”

“If we let these sit in here, they won’t wash properly,” Leonard groused, gesturing to the dishes though he knew Jim wouldn’t be able to see it through the inky blackness.

“Hold on a minute,” Jim said brightly.  “I have an idea.”

Leonard straightened up and leaned against the counter as he heard Jim shuffling away into the next room.  He heard some clanging and some soft noises of pain as Jim bumped into things, but nothing overly alarming.  He waited a few minutes, watching the lightning outside fracture the night sky, and turned his attention back to Jim as the other man crept back into the room.

“Here, this’ll help,” Jim offered.

There was a clanking of glass on granite as Jim set several somethings down on the kitchen counter a few feet away and then the flick of a match being struck.  The scent of sulfur filled Leonard’s nose as the matchstick in Jim’s hand blazed and he realized what Jim was up to as the younger man lit a number of candles of all shapes and sizes in their respective holders, giving the kitchen a warm, welcoming glow.

“We can do dishes the old fashioned way,” Jim suggested with a grin.  “With candlelight for ambiance.”

Leonard chuckled and rolled his eyes in tandem, stepping up to the sink and reaching over to start transferring dishes into it.

“I’ll wash, you dry,” he agreed easily.

Jim sidestepped around Leonard and reached for the dish towel where it hung over the handle on the stove.  As Leonard finished loading the sink, Jim playfully snapped the towel at the older man’s thigh, earning himself a glare.

“You sure you want to do that?”  He asked as he turned on the sink and reached in, soaping up a sponge to get to work with.

“What are you going to do?”  Jim asked with a wicked grin.  “Splash me?”

Leonard raised an eyebrow as a grin slowly spread across his own features.  The level of soap bubbles in the sink was slowly rising and as it did, he reached in with one hand and scooped a bunch into his palm.

“I just might,” Leonard replied, swiftly flinging the bubbles at Jim.

“No!”  Jim yelped, dodging, narrowly missing being hit.

Sidestepping the new puddle on the floor left by Leonard’s failed shot, Jim reached into the sink and scooped up his own handful, reaching up and smearing the bubbles down Leonard’s cheek.  Leonard’s eyes twinkled with mingled exasperation and mischief, and before Jim could so much as pull away, it was  _on_.

Whipping out a hand, Leonard snatched up the spray nozzle, pulling it out as far as it would go and aiming it at Jim, soaking the captain’s shirt in an instant.  Jim cried out in protest, lunging forward in an attempt to wrest control of the nozzle away from Leonard.

“Stop it!”  Jim laughed.  “You’re making a mess!”

“It’s water,” Leonard replied, releasing the trigger on the nozzle for a moment as he held it out of Jim’s reach.  “It’ll dry!”

Jim gave up trying to take the hose and scooped up two handfuls of bubbles instead, lobbing them at Leonard, soaking the other man’s shirt and leaving a trail of froth in the wake of the water.  Droplets rained down all around them as the bubble fight raged on and slowly, one by one, the candles were extinguished until only one remained, casting an almost eerie glow on all the granite and chrome in the kitchen.  Jim stood closest to the sink in the flickering light, the hose clutched in his hand and pointed at Leonard.

“Do you surrender?”  He asked with a triumphant smirk.

“Not on your life,” Leonard replied, lunging at Jim.

As Leonard dove, Jim stepped back, hose at the ready.  What he didn’t count on was the large puddle on the floor reducing the coefficient of friction to pretty much zero with his bare feet.  Instead of moving out of the way, Jim slipped and reflexively tightened his grip on the hose, sending a spray in Leonard’s general direction and extinguishing the last candle before taking Leonard’s feet out from under him, too.

The two men landed in a puddle in a tangled heap of limbs, both groaning in pain.  Leonard rolled off of Jim as quickly as he could, searching the younger man’s features for any traces of hurt, ignoring the agony in his own knees and elbows from the sprawl.

“Damn it, Jim!”  Leonard exclaimed, his hands coming to rest on Jim’s shoulders as he knelt over the younger man and did his best to look for any signs of injury in the dark.  “Why does everything have to end in disaster with you?”

Jim laughed, reaching up to grab Leonard’s wrists, pushing his lover’s hands away.

“I’m fine, Bones,” he reassured the other man.  “You, on the other hand, could have broken a hip…”

“Unbelievable,” Leonard groused, rolling his eyes and moving aside, giving Jim some space to sit up.

“Come on, let’s go dry off,” Jim suggested, carefully climbing to his feet.  “I can think of at least one thing we could do to pass the time that doesn’t require any sort of light…”

Leonard stood and stepped closer to Jim, reaching for the younger man’s belt buckle.

“In the interest of not tracking water all over the house,” he said coyly, working the clasp.  “I think we should leave our clothes here.”

Jim sucked in a breath and nodded, swallowing thickly at the sudden heat that flooded his veins.

“I think that’s an excellent idea.”


	5. McKirk + Spuhura - Double Date

“Who ever would have thought we’d wind up like this?”  Jim asked with a chuckle, rolling his now-empty wine glass around between his fingers.  “The two of you, the two of us.”

He gave Leonard’s hand a squeeze where he held it in his other one beneath the table, stroking his thumb over the doctor’s knuckles.

“It’s a far cry from that time you tried to pick me up at that bar in Iowa,” Uhura said bemusedly across the table, glancing at Spock beside her.

“I made a lot of friends that night,” Jim said wryly, somewhat sarcastically.  “It’s all water under the bridge now.  Hell, Cupcake’s my best security officer.  Who would have ever thought he’d wind up willing to lay his life down for me.”

“Especially since you put him in the position of having to do so more than is strictly necessary,” Leonard said with a roll of his eyes.

“Are you saying I go looking for trouble, Bones?”  Jim asked, setting his glass down and bringing his hand to his chest.  “I’m shocked.  Shocked and hurt.”

Leonard shook his head and squeezed Jim’s hand again

“All I ask is for a year to go by without some kind of mass casualty incident,” Leonard pleaded.  “Just one year.  We’re over half way through this mission and you’ve already nearly destroyed the Enterprise three times.”

“I do believe you are placing too much of the onus for the incidents with the Romulans, Admiral Marcus, and the Narada on the captain, Doctor,” Spock interjected.

Nyota reached over and patted him on the knee.

“I think the Doctor was mostly joking,” she assured the Vulcan.

Wanting to detract from the moment of awkwardness, Leonard glanced at the hand Nyota had resting on the table, his gaze fixating on the ring that adorned one of her fingers.  It glittered an ethereal blue color, catching the light from the hanging lamps overhead.

“I believe congratulations are in order,” Leonard said warmly.  “A toast to your engagement, and a long and happy marriage.”

He raised his glass along with everyone else and took a long draft of the wine in the wake of the clinking.  He met Spock’s gaze across the table as he set the glass down and grinned impishly.

“So is the ring a tracking device, too?”  He asked teasingly.

It was Nyota’s turn to roll her eyes as she jumped in to Spock’s defense.

“I chose vokaya,” she said lightly.  “I think it’s beautiful.”

“I’m only teasing,” Leonard said with a chuckle.  “Without that necklace we never would have found you and the others, so I can’t fault Spock’s logic.”

Their food arrived at that moment, sparing Spock the need to reply.  As they began to eat, however, he continued staring at Dr. McCoy.  It wasn’t very Vulcan of him to want to get the last word, but he felt the need to make a case for himself.  Still, he kept quiet as they all ate without much commentary, enjoying their meal and the rest of their wine in silence.

As their plates were cleared away a short while later, it was decided by mutual agreement that they should head out.  Darkness had fallen while they’d eaten and the group looked forward to the cool nighttime air as they paid their bills and walked out into the twilight.

“It’s not often you get to see four moons all at once,” Jim commented as they strolled toward their hotel.  “Romantic, isn’t it?”

He nudged Leonard playfully in the ribs and got a gentle shove in return.  The two men strolled along beside Spock and Uhura, who walked arm in arm.  A cool breeze blew by, making Nyota shiver, and as Spock had opted not to wear a jacket, Leonard slipped his off of his shoulders and carefully draped it over hers instead.

“Thank you, Leonard,” Nyota murmured gratefully.  “You’re a true gentleman.”

“My momma raised me right, ma’am,” Leonard said softly, his southern drawl thicker than usual.

It wasn’t long before they reached their destination and the four of them ambled leisurely through the lobby and to the elevator bank at the back.  They rode up in silence to Spock and Nyota’s floor first and waved goodnight as the two of them exited the lift.  

Jim leaned forward to press the button to rush the doors closed just as Spock reappeared in the doorway and leveled a gaze on Leonard.

“If I may, Doctor,” he said coolly.  “Your admiration of Nyota’s jewelry makes me wonder whether you are not simply envious of it.  To assuage your envy, if you would like, I would be happy to provide you with a necklace of your own.”

Before Leonard could process the Vulcan’s words, Spock was gone again and Jim was absolutely _howling_ with laughter.  Leonard would never have expected jest from Spock, least of all a zinger like that one, and though he was still shocked, he couldn’t help but chuckle.

Spock, meanwhile, let an uncharacteristic smile curl up the corners of his lips.  It may not have been very Vulcan of him, but getting the last word sure did feel pretty spectacular.


	6. McKirk - Cooking Together

“I saw that.”

Jim grinned as he pulled his hand away from the pot on the stove, sticking the finger he’d used to swipe some sauce out of a pan with into his mouth and making a noise of contentment.

“Remind me where you learned to cook like this?”  Jim asked, picking up a spoon and giving the tomato-based sauce in the pan a little stir.

“I learned all about good, old-fashioned, down-home southern cooking from my ma,” Leonard replies.  “But this?  This I learned from my dad.  He said Italian food was romantic, and any day he had off work he’d be in the kitchen, giving my ma a bit of a break.  His day job had him nursing sick bodies, but his cooking nursed the spirit.”

Jim smiled at the hint of nostalgia in Leonard’s voice and set the spoon aside, stooping down to look at the crostata in the oven.  As he watched the sugars on the top caramelize, Leonard glanced over and rolled his eyes.

“Get out of the kitchen or so help me, I’ll chase you out,” Leonard threatened.  “This was all supposed to be a surprise, but you had to go and come home early.”

“I came home early because I wanted to surprise  _you_ ,” Jim argued.  “I guess we should just be happy that we both remembered our anniversary.”

Leonard couldn’t resist Jim’s bright, easy smile.

“Well if you’re going to keep on being a pain in my ass anyway, can you toss this salad while I drain the pasta?”  He asked.

“I thought you’d never ask,” Jim teased.

He and Leonard traded places, going about their tasks.  He watched Leonard out of the corner of his eye as he made sure the vinaigrette on the salad was evenly distributed and he couldn’t help but feel a warmth and love for the other man.  He appreciated moments like these more than he could put into words - moments where the stresses of interplanetary politics and threats of Klingon warfare were far away, giving Leonard a chance to unwind.  Shore leaves never lasted long enough, and Jim never took them for granted.

Reaching into the bowl as Leonard drained and dished out pasta, Jim plucked out a crisp piece of lettuce, quickly popping it into his mouth and chewing, earning himself a glance and a raised eyebrow from his husband.  Instead of admonishing him again, however, Leonard returned his focus to his work.  He ladled a good amount of his his homemade puttanesca on to the spaghettini in the bowls and garnished each with a sprig of parsley.  He straightened up and reached back to untie the apron he was wearing.

“Go ahead and bring out the salad,” Leonard instructed.  “I’m just going to take the crostata out to cool and I’ll bring in the pasta.”

“Yes sir,” Jim said brightly, picking up the salad bowl and heading off.  In the dining room, he straightened up the place settings and cracked open the bottle of wine he’d brought home for dinner.  It was a medium-bodied red wine - Bones’ favorite Merlot - and it was the perfect accompaniment to their meal.  He poured a healthy amount of the wine into each of their glasses and, like the old romantic he was, lit the two tall taper candles in the middle of the table.  ‘

Satisfied, Jim quickly dished the salad out into each of their bowls and returned to the kitchen just in time to find Leonard dusting the crostata with some powdered sugar.  Some of the substance had wound up on the counter and Jim grinned mischievously as he crept up beside the doctor.  Reaching out, he quickly swiped some of the sugar onto a fingertip and then off again onto Leonard’s cheek in a streak.

Before Jim could so much as pull away, Leonard’s hand snapped up and his fingers wrapped tightly around Jim’s wrist.  Turning to face the younger man, he leveled a stare on him.

“You can’t stay out of trouble for five minutes, can you?”  He growled teasingly.  “What am I going to do with you, Jim?”

Heat flared in Jim’s eyes.

“I can think of a few things…” the captain trailed off coyly.

Leonard rolled his eyes.

“Unbelievable,” he groused.  “I just put hours of work into making your favorite dinner and you want to skip straight to dessert.”

“I can’t help that you turn me on, Bones,” Jim laughed.  “Maybe you need to stop being so sexy.”

Leonard dropped Jim’s wrist and shook his head, wiping the powdered sugar off and picking up the pasta plates.

“Keep it in your pants for half an hour,” Leonard said lightly.  “Let’s enjoy the pasta and dessert, and then I’ll let you do whatever you want with me.”

Jim grinned widely, stepping closer, putting his hands on Leonard’s hips and leaning in to press a kiss to the other man’s lips.  Leonard nearly dropped the plates he was holding and whimpered softly, unable to reciprocate the touch, and sucked in a harsh breath as Jim pulled away.

“Happy anniversary, Bones,” Jim said softly.  “I love you.”

“I love you, too,” Leonard replied, his mouth quirking up in a half smile.  “Now let’s go eat - dinner’s getting cold.”

Jim turned on his heel and headed the charge into the dining room with both men’s minds already far beyond the main course and on what they’re sure will be the real celebration of their love.


	7. Spones - Vacation

Leonard sipped at the piping hot coffee in the mug in his hand as he stepped out onto the porch not long after sunrise.  He squinted as he took in the golden rays peeking over the line of trees at the far edge of the large lake bordering the property, keeping it safe from summer’s high winds.  Turning his head, sensing another presence, he was met with the silhouette of another man sitting in a meditative pose on a small foam mat near the front steps.

“Thanks for the coffee,” he murmured as he padded over.  “Your observational skills never cease to amaze me.”

Spock turned his head ever so slightly, spying Leonard out of the corner of his eye without breaking form.

“We have been partners for four years and seventy-six days,” Spock said.  “Your surprise at the fact that I am familiar with your coffee preferences is illogical.”

Leonard rolled his eyes and leaned against the porch railing nearby Spock, taking another sip.

“I’m just surprised because it’s a sign of sentiment,” Leonard teased.  “It might be the most thoughtful thing you’ve ever done for me, Spock.”

With a nearly inaudible sigh, Spock gave up all pretenses of meditating and relaxed his pose.  He gracefully climbed to his feet and stooped to roll up the yoga mat he’d been seated on before coming eye to eye with Leonard.

“I simply wanted to make this vacation special for you,” Spock emphasized.  “You know how deeply I care for you, Leonard; no such sentiment should come as a surprise.”

Leonard chuckled.

“You’re never going to get the hang of the whole teasing thing, are you?”  Leonard said with a grin.  “I’m just pulling your leg.”

“As you are not physically pulling on my leg I assume that to be another one of your human colloquialisms,” Spock stated.  “Its context suggests your words were meant in jest.”

Leonard rolled his eyes and briefly wondered how his heart could belong to someone so rigid, but as he watched the way the sun’s rays illuminated one half of Spock’s features and cast the other into shadows, he couldn’t help but smile.   Lifting his mug to his lips and finishing the rest of his coffee in a single gulp, Leonard gestured to the lake with his free hand.

“It’s going to be a scorcher today,” he offered.  “I know you don’t mind the heat, but I’d like to head down to the lake after breakfast.  I used to spend my summers down at the swimming hole; it’ll be nice to do it again.”

Spock inclined his head in agreement and waited for Leonard to turn around and head back into the house before following suit.  The men went about their morning in relative silence, working to make breakfast and tidy up after the previous night’s chess tournament and movie marathon in perfect sync.  Within an hour breakfast was made and they were sitting down to eat.

“What kinds of things did you used to do over the summer back on Vulcan,” Leonard asked through a bite of his eggs.

Spock considered him for a moment, savoring a cup of green tea.

“I did not have much leisure time as a child,” Spock replied after a moment or two.  “When I did, I often spent time with I-Chaya.”

Leonard nodded.  He’d heard about Spock’s sehlat before, and the thought of the Vulcan lying curled up with the animal on a cool evening had his heart swelling with affection for the other man.  For someone hailing from a species and culture so far removed from emotion, Spock certainly seemed to feel a lot of affection toward the creature and it brought a smile to Leonard’s face.

“If you liked that sehlat, I bet you’d love the neighbor’s wolfhound,” Leonard commented.

“Sehlats bear little resemblance to Terran canids,” Spock mused.

“That wolfhound is big, fluffy, and loyal,” Leonard continued.  “What more could you want?”

Spock’s silence in the wake of his words was telling of the fact that the Vulcan understood the sentiment he was going for and Leonard left it be.  The two of them ate the rest of their breakfast in a companionable silence and took their time packing a few things for the beach. 

By the time they headed out into the sunshine an hour or so later, the temperature had soared into the eighties and was continuing to climb.  The walk down to the beach took no more than a few minutes, but it was long enough that Leonard was covered in a fine sheen of perspiration.  Spock suffered no such ill effect and looked as collected as ever while he laid out a blanket for the two of them.

“Damn you and your Vulcan physiology,” Leonard groused as he liberally applied a layer of sunscreen to his skin in an effort not to soak up too much sun.

“If the heat is bothersome, I suggest you take a swim,” Spock said lightly.  “I can finish up here.”

Leonard shrugged.

“Suit yourself,” he replied.  “Join me when you’re done.”

Without waiting for an affirmation from the other man, Leonard turned and headed for the shoreline.  He left his sandals well out of reach of the waves and sighed contentedly as he walked forward and felt the cool lick of water against his feet and ankles.  Closing his eyes, Leonard walked in deeper, relishing the feel of droplets peppering his chest as waves splashed up around him.

The sound and sensation of the waves removed him even further from the Enterprise and his duties, and it wall all Leonard could do not to wish he could stay there forever.  He was just thinking about what sorts of things could make the day even more perfect (mint juleps came to mind) when he felt another presence nearby.  Opening his eyes, Leonard glanced over his shoulder just in time to watch Spock wade up to him, trailing his fingertips through the water.

Wordlessly, Spock moved around to stand in front of Leonard and reached out for both of his hands.  At first, Leonard was shocked as Spock touched his fingertips with his own; it was uncharacteristic for the Vulcan to show such a public display of affection.  When his eyes darted up to meet Spock’s however, the raw and unfiltered affection in them made his heart leap and it made his head spin to think that even after all the years he’d known Spock, the Vulcan could still find ways to surprise him.

“I ashaya du,” Spock said softly.

“I love you, too, Spock,” Leonard replied, at last twining his fingers with the Vulcan’s and leaning forward to return the kiss in his own way.


	8. Chekov x Reader - Family Visits

You bite your lip and fret with the hem of your jacket as you stare out the shuttle’s window and at the landscape whizzing by below.  A gentle hand comes to wrap around yours and snaps you out of your reverie.  Turning your head, you’re greeted by Pavel’s earnest, sky-blue eyes.  His expression is one of concern as he gives your hand a squeeze.

“Don’t look down,  _kotik_ ,” Pavel urges you softly.  
  
You smile weakly and nod, but he’s wrong about the root of your trepidation.  The landscape below is helping to distract you from the real object of your dread: the pending meeting with his family.  Regardless of the fact that he has reassured you dozens of times that his family will adore you, you’re worried that you’re going to say or do something stupid and make a poor first impression.

The remainder of the shuttle ride passes by quickly and without incident, and before you’ve come to terms with the upcoming gathering, Pavel is giving you a hand down the shuttle steps and leading you toward a waiting line of hover cars.  

“We should be there in fifteen minutes,” Pavel says brightly as he ushers you into the back seat of one of the cars and runs around to join you from the other side.

As he closes the door and the hover car takes off, Pavel looks over at you and finally notices that something is off.  His expression falls and he moves over toward you, ignoring his seat belt in favor of figuring out what’s got you down.

“What is the matter?”  He asks softly so as not to draw attention from the driver up front.  “Are you unwell after the flight?”

You shake your head, smiling weakly and reaching out to take his hand.  You give it a squeeze and take a slow, deep breath to steel yourself before speaking.

“I’m just still nervous about meeting your parents,” you admit.  “And I know you told me it’ll be fine, and that they’ll love me, but I’m always nervous meeting new people, and these are your  _parents_ , Pav - I need them to like me.”

Pavel pauses for a moment, stroking the back of your hand with his thumb as he tries to find some words to reassure you that he hasn’t already offered in past.

“ _Da_ , they are my family,”  Pavel offers.  “But so are you, and more importantly, you are the family I  _chose_.  Even if my parents disapprove of you - though there is no reason that they should - it will not change my feelings for you, and I promise that we can leave any time if you feel uncomfortable.”

You sniff a little as tears threaten and smile again.

“But where will we go?”  You ask.  “We’ve already said we’d stay the whole week.  Around this time of the year it’ll be impossible to find a hotel last minute.”

Pavel regards you a little more seriously.

“It will not be a problem,” he assures you.  “I have my channels.  After all, back up plans were invented in Russia.”

You can’t help but laugh - genuinely this time - and roll you eyes.  Letting out a shaky breath and trying to relax your tense muscles a little, you nod.

“Okay,” you say.  “I can do this.”

“Yes, you can,” Pavel promises.

You lean in closer, letting go of his hand so he can wrap an arm around your shoulders instead, cradling you against his chest for the rest of the ride.  It’s not long before the car is pulling to a stop in front of Pavel’s family home and you’re reluctant to lean away as the driver steps out to retrieve your luggage from the trunk.

“May we have a minute, please?”  Pavel asks him before he can shut the driver’s side door.

The driver nods and leaves the two of you alone in the car, stepping aside to make a call from the sidewalk and giving you some privacy.  As silence stretches between the two of you, you slowly pull away from Pavel, sitting up and swiveling in your seat so you can face him better.  He does the same and reaches out to gently cup your cheek as he gazes into your eyes.  You watch him, eyes crossing as he slowly leans in closer to you.  

As his lips meet yours, your eyes fall closed all together and you gasp softly, pressing yourself into the kiss.  You’ve kissed him hundreds, probably thousands of times before but you know in your heart you’ll never grow tired of it.  Each time he kisses you it steals your breath away and makes you feel giddy.  It’s like the puppy love everyone talked about in grade school, but so much deeper and more all-encompassing.  

The kiss lasts only a few seconds and soon you’re able to breathe again as Pavel pulls away, leaving you reeling.  You blink a few times before properly opening your eyes, feeling your heart swell at the sight of the goofy grin Pavel is now wearing.

“So, are you ready?”  He asks.

You bite your lip and nod, but hold up a hand before he can move to get out of the car.

“I might need a little more encouragement like that at some point tonight,” you say slowly.  “Is there more where that came from?”

Pavel grins impishly.

“So much more,” he emphasizes.  “Just say the word.”

“What word?”  You ask.

“ _Ponchik_ ,” Pavel suggests.

You raise an eyebrow.

“I couldn’t say that if I wanted to,” you say with a laugh.  “And how can I be sure it doesn’t mean something terrible and dirty?”

“It is Russian for doughnut,” Pavel explains.

“Ah, yes,” you say sagely.  “I remember now - the clever ruse was invented in Russia, too.”

Pavel laughs and shakes his head.

“I would never set you up,  _kotik_ ,” he assures you.  “Now come - the driver is staring at us.  I believe we have overstayed our welcome.”

You giggle as he makes his way out of the hover car, shifting so you can step out of it as he moves around to open your door.  You shiver as the chilly winter air hits your skin but feel a flush of warmth as Pavel pulls you in close.  The driver was kind enough to carry both of your suitcases up to the door, and so Pavel holds you against him the entire length of the walk up to the door.  As he knocks and the two of you wait for it to swing open, you feel like your courage has been bolstered.  

As Pavel’s parents pull open the door, you greet them with a smile and step inside to jovial embraces, all of your worries fading fast in light of the warm welcome.  With Pavel by your side, you know that everything will be just fine one way or another.


	9. Chekov x Reader - Night In

You inhale deeply as you walk into Pavel’s quarters, the scent of popcorn and replicated pizza filling the air.  The smell brings a smile to your face and so you’re already grinning when Pavel turns to look at you from where he’s setting the night’s snacks down on the small coffee table in the main living area of his quarters.  The holoscreen is already alight and set to the film library for the two of you to flip through and you’ve brought the finishing touches - an illicit bottle of cinnamon whiskey and a few pouches of candies you had picked up the last time you were planet side.

“Just in time!”  Pavel exclaims as he practically bounces over to where you’re standing and takes the items from your hands, leaning in to give you a quick kiss.  “Make yourself at home, I will join you shortly.”

You nod and make your way to the couch, pulling your legs up and shaking out one of the blankets piled next to you.  Draping it over your lap, you snuggle into the cushions and pick up the remote, flicking through all of the categories in the film library.  You glance up a moment later as you hear the sound of ice cubes clinking around in glasses and watch Pavel come to sit beside you.  He sets a couple of small candy dishes full of the treats you’d brought down on the table and adds two tumblers full of ice cubes - undoubtedly the source of the clinking noise - to the spread.  Finally, he sets the now-open bottle of whiskey down in the middle of it all and flops back against the cushions to join you.

“We have everything we need,” he says brightly.  “Now we can spend all night on the sofa without lifting a finger!”

“That sounds like magic after a long week,” you groan contentedly.  “So, what do you want to watch?”

Pavel shifts around so that he’s sitting with his knee bumping yours.  There’s enough space between the two of you that you can eat without bumping elbows, but you’re close enough to enjoy one another’s presences.  He considers your words for a moment before smiling brightly and snatching the remote out of your hand.

“How about a horror movie?”  He asks.  “If you’re afraid, I can make you feel safe!”

You bark out a laugh as Pavel scrolls through a list of old Terran horror flicks and lean forward to pour some whiskey into both of your tumblers, glacing at him over your shoulder.

“I’ve fought Klingons and Gorns,” you list.  “I’ve nearly been killed eighteen different ways, and that’s just in the last quarter.  I’ve dodged bullets, evaded phaser fire, and narrowly escaped Dr. McCoy’s scathing lectures more than once.  It’ll take more than a scary movie to ruffle my feathers, Pav.”

“Paranormal Activity it is,” Pavel confirms as he hovers over the selection.  “We shall see how tough you are.”

You chuckle and hand Pavel his glass, now full of amber liquid.  You tip your own back and shiver from the not unpleasant burn of the alcohol in your chest.  It doesn’t take you long to drain your glass and as the movie just starts to get creepy, you pick up a slice of pizza and dig in, watching Pavel out of the corner of your eye.

The movie plays on and you find yourself holding back giggles that slowly begin turning to nervous laughter as the creepiness amps up.  Eventually, you find yourself invading Pavel’s space, clinging to his arm with your head pressed to his chest.  As his heart beats beneath your cheek, it starts to remind you of the phantom footsteps in the movie and you subtly shift over so you’re resting your head on his shoulder instead.

The scream that rips from your throat as the final scene ends sends Pavel into a fit of giggles even as he’s petting your hair and soothing your shaken form.  You just  _know_  your face is beet red and you refuse to meet his gaze as you pull away and cross your arms over your chest indignantly.

“I’m good with gore and action horror,” you say defensively.  “It’s not my fault I spook easily!”

Pavel’s fighting to keep his mirth in.

“I told you I would protect you,  мы́шка,” Pavel teases gently.  “And I’m sorry for laughing.  Let me make it up to you.”

He holds his arms out, leaving space for you to crawl into his lap.  You stare at him reproachfully for a moment before finally relenting.  Shifting around, dislodging your blanket in favor of his body heat, you nestle yourself in his lap and wrap your arms around his neck.  As you do so, he leans forward a little and stretches, plucking a small candy bowl full of jujubes off of the table.  You sit back a little bit, giving him enough room to raise his hand - fingers now clutching a red jelly - to your lips.  You nip the candy from his grasp and chew it with a happy sigh.

“Okay,” you say thickly around the candy that’s sticking to your teeth.  “You’re forgiven.”

Pavel’s smile is bright enough to light up even the darkest corners of space and your slightly sour mood quickly fades to nothing but a fuzzy memory. The night turns out even more swimmingly than you’d anticipated as he keeps feeding you jujubes and cuddling you tightly, and you couldn’t be happier.


	10. Chekov x Reader - Heated Argument

Pavel creeps into the launch bay, glancing around for any signs of life and finding none, cursing softly.  In this year’s annual, ship-wide game of capture the flag, he is determined to bring home the win for his team.  They had lost terribly last year, and he’s on a mission to make up for it.  He’s in enemy territory on a reconnaissance mission to find their flag, but he’s not having any luck so far.  You’re trailing along behind him, watching his back and ensuring you’re not being followed.  Tensions are running high.

“I bet it’s in a Jefferies somewhere,” you whisper.

“That would be cheating,” Pavel hisses.  “At least fifty percent of the flag must be visible.”

“Then what do you want to bet  _only_  fifty percent is?”  You tease.

Pavel shrugs like you have a fair point and then beckons you along.  The two of you creep along next to a stack of cargo crates, ducking down so you were out of view of the security cameras stationed around the room.  Keeping your eyes peeled for the flag, the pair of you did your best to go unnoticed.  You could hear footsteps echoing around from a nearby hallway, though due to their slow and steady pace, you couldn’t be sure whether they were friendly or not.

Coming to a corner, you stop behind Pavel and wait as he carefully peeks around it.  You’re not expecting his yelp of surprise a second later and it startles you, sending you reeling back a couple of feet.  

“Run!” Pavel yells as he’s suddenly jerked forward by the arm.

Your eyes widen as he watch Mr. Scott step into view with a wicked grin on his face and before you, too, can be caught and hauled off to jail, you turn tail and book it in the opposite direction.  You don’t stop running until you reach the relative safety of your own team’s territory, and when you do, you flag down Nyota.

“They’ve got Pavel,” you wheeze, catching your breath.  “We’ve got to go break him out!”

“Don’t worry,” Nyota assures you.  “I’ve got intel on where they’re keeping their prisoners.  We’ll get him.”

She holds up a PADD and pulls up the ship’s schematics, zooming in on a small open area in the hydraulics room in the belly of the ship.  She points to a corner of the room - out of the way but not entirely hidden from the view of passers by - and zooms in a little further.

“I’m picking up a small cluster of bio signs right there,” she explains.  “I’m willing to bet that’s where they’ve taken him.”

You nod.

“Let’s go,” you say with determination.  “I know a short cut.”

You lead her along the hallway until you come to one of the panels that conceals the entrance to a Jefferies tube. Prying it open, you climb inside and duck down, making some room for Nyota and then closing the panel again once she’s inside.  The ceiling is just shy of five feet high and so the two of you are ducking down as not to crack yourselves on any pipes while you make your way to the hydraulics room.

The two of you shimmy down ladders and through narrow passages for a few minutes before you reach some grating in the floor.  Holding a hand out to stop Nyota, you glance down through the slats at your feet and get a look at the hydraulics room below you.  You don’t have to be able to see what’s going on to know the to of you have found the right place, however, as Pavel’s raised and angry voice echoes around the space below you.

“That is absolutely cheating!”  Pavel yells.  “It cannot be higher than eight feet off of the ground!”

“No, it cannot be more than eight feet  _out of reach_ ,” Mr. Scott’s raised voice answers.  “And even Keenser could reach it from the Jefferies tube that overlies that spot!  How d’you think we got it up there in the first place?!”

“You and your semantics; that is irrelevant!”  Pavel shouts.  “It must be  _accessible_ , and most people don’t know the layout of the Jefferies tubes!  It gives the team with more operations crew -  _your team_  - the advantage!”

Grinning and realizing that the tube you’re currently in must be the one that Scotty is referring to as it’s the only one that runs through the top of the hydraulics room, you carefully prise the panel open, doing your best not to fall through it as you brace yourself on its edges and lean into the opening.  Glancing around you spy the flag a foot away, hanging from a hook in the ceiling, the skull and crossbones on it grinning garishly at you.

You spot Pavel and Scotty a short distance away, surrounded by a group of other prisoners from your team in varying states of annoyance at their squabbling.  Reaching over carefully, feeling Nyota’s hand come to fist in the back of your uniform to act as a makeshift harness to keep you from falling out of the tube, you snatch the flag and start waving it around like an idiot in an attempt to get Pavel’s attention.  Your efforts are in vain, however, and you give up on trying after a moment.  Instead, you pull back up into the Jefferies tube with Nyota’s help, replace the panel, and creep back to your own territory, amused at how cocky it was of the other team to leave the Jefferies tubes unguarded and thinking that no one would use them to grab the flag.

Once you’re back in home territory, Nyota issues an announcement to let everyone know the game has been won by your team.  As she does so, you make your way proudly through the corridors, waving the opposite team’s flag and marching toward hydraulics.  When you reach the room, you can  _still_  hear arguing and you roll your eyes.

“Break it up, boys,” you say as you stride up in between the two of them, holding up the flag.  “The game’s won, cheating or no cheating.  We did it, Pav!”

He’s still red in the face as he glances over at you but he melts at the sight of your victorious, gleeful grin.  You reach out to hand him the flag so he can experience it in all its glory for himself and you turn to Scotty.

“Better luck next time, Mr. Scott,” you say with a grin, patting him on the shoulder.

Scotty’s expression is sour but he manages a tight smile.

“Nicely done, Ensign,” he congratulates you before turning to Pavel.  “I told you it wouldn’t be a problem!”

Before Pavel can get all fired up again, you step over to him and put your hands on his shoulders, gently smoothing you palms down his arms until your hands meet his.  Interlacing your fingers with his, you step up onto your tip toes and press a soft kiss to his lips.

“I say we head back to your quarters to celebrate,” you murmur softly to him.  “On the way we can stop by med bay and see if Dr. McCoy’s got anything for that bruised ego of yours.”

Pavel smiles sheepishly and pulls one hand out of yours to run his fingers through his hair.

“I may have gotten a little too focused on winning,” Pavel admits sheepishly.

“A little?” You say with a laugh, giving his hand a tug.

“A lot,” he replies.

“Oh, ye of little faith,” you hum brightly, turning on your heel.  “There’s nowhere they could have put their flag that I couldn’t have retrieved it.”

Pavel blushes and nods in agreement.

“I have insulted your honor,” he says lightly.  “And for that I must atone.  Come - let me make it up to you.”

The two of you head out of the hydraulics room and toward the turbo lift hand in hand, the flag still clasped in Pavel’s free one.  You bite your lip as you consider what his making it up to you will entail, and you flush as your mind starts to wander to some pretty wonderful places,


	11. Chekov x Reader - Morning Routine

“Wake up,  _cолнышко_ ,” Pavel whispers as his hand gently cups your cheek to get your attention.  “You’re going to be late.”

You groan and turn your face into your pillow.

“Five more minutes, Pav,” you grumble.

It’s a morning like any other, and despite your grumbling, Pavel persists.  You know he’s already made coffee even before he says as much, but you hope that by burying your face and blocking out the aroma you can somehow buy yourself a few more minutes in bed.

“Come on,” he urges.  “I promise to make it worth your while to get up.”

“But it’s my day off,” you whine, turning your head just enough so you can peer at him with one eye, your gaze owlish.

“You have a physical scheduled first thing,” Pavel reminds you.  “After that you can come back and take a nap.”

“Don’t remind me,” you groan.  “I’m too tired for this.”

“Come on,” he reiterates, pulling away and getting to his feet.  “The coffee will help.”

You mutter a few choice words into your pillow before sighing mock-dramatically and rolling over, letting your feet hit the floor as you right yourself.  Yawning, you stretch a little and get to your feet, padding into the kitchenette, looking Pavel up and down as he slides a cup of coffee across the counter to you.

“Are you wearing my robe?”  You ask, eyes lingering on the pink and purple polka dots adorning the soft, fleecy fabric.

“Yes,” Pavel replies simply.  “Do you like it?”

He steps away from the counter and does a slow twirl with his arms out, modeling the look for you.  You roll your eyes and chuckle.

“You’re adorable,” you tease.

Pavel grins at you as you pick up your mug and take your first sip of the coffee he’s made.  You grimace almost immediately as it hits your tongue, setting the mug down and coughing, choking on the stuff.

“What is this, jet fuel?!”  You sputter.  “It’s strong enough to strip paint off of the hull!”

“I told you it would help wake you up,” Pavel says brightly.

“Wake me up?!”  You say, bewildered.  “Pav, if I drink any more of this stuff it’s going to knock my blood pressure into the stratosphere, and then you’ll have Dr. McCoy to contend with.”

“If he tries to tell you that you drink too much coffee, ask him if he can go a day without,” Pavel says cheekily.  “He will leave you alone, I promise you.”

“You sound like you’re speaking from experience,” you say pointedly.

Pavel simply shrugs with a smile and turns away to replicate what you assume is breakfast.  In the meantime, you excuse yourself to freshen up.  You decide against getting all dolled up and instead dig through Pavel’s stash of clothes until you find a pair of sweat pants that aren’t too long and an old academy t-shirt that isn’t too baggy, leaving your uniform discarded where you’d draped it over a chair at the bedside the night before.

Walking into the bathroom, you make sure your hair isn’t a complete disaster and splash some cold water on your face, perking up a little bit at that.  Once you’re dry, you make your way back out, slipping your feet into your boots (as you’d neglected to bring anything comfier over to Pav’s the night before) and adjusting the ankle elastics of the sweat pants down around them.

“You look lovely,” Pavel says softly as he leans on the counter next to two plates full of breakfast staples.

You snort and roll your eyes as you straighten up and take a seat at the counter, your stomach roaring as the smell of your breakfast favorites hits your nose.

“You’re my boyfriend, you  _have_ to say that,” you say lightly.  “I barely look presentable.”

Pavel shakes his head and takes a seat opposite you, picking up his fork and spearing a bite of scrambled eggs and pointing at you with the utensil.

“You always look beautiful,” Pavel assures you.  “Especially when you are wearing my clothes.”

You chuckle as you dig into your own breakfast, eating in silence for a few minutes before glancing at the chron and realizing that you’re due in med bay in just a few minutes time.  Pushing your plate aside, you gird yourself and take a long swig of the poison that Pav is trying to pass off as coffee and rush into the bathroom to brush your teeth.

When you come back out, Pavel is waiting for you by the door.  He smiles and wraps his arms around you as you step in close, pressing a gentle kiss to your forehead before releasing you again and sidestepping out of your way.

“I can come with you, if you want,” Pavel offers.

You smile softly and shake your head.

“I’ll be fine, Pav,” you assure him.  “And I’ll be back in no time.  I expect some more passable coffee as a treat for being good for the doctor.”

Pavel laughs as the door slides open and you move to step out.

“I can do that,” Pavel promises.  “Perhaps I can replicate something even better to go with the coffee, too.”

You laugh as you walk down the corridor, your mind already on your return and the cuddles you’re sure will be waiting for you then.


	12. Bones x Reader - Trying Something New

“What do you mean, you’ve never built a pillow fort before?!”

You’re gaping at your boyfriend incredulously, appalled at how miserable a childhood Leonard must have had to have never built a pillow fort.

“Where did you hide away from the world?”  You ask, wide-eyed from the shock of it.  “Where did you go to read when there was too much going on in the house?”

“Not much of anything overly exciting ever happened in the McCoy household,” Leonard says wryly.  “I didn’t have those kinds of problems, and it just never occurred to me.”

“We need to fix this,” you say seriously.  “For science.  Tonight, we’re building your first pillow fort.”

Leonard glances around the hotel room you’ll be staying in for the duration of your shore leave.

“How do you plan on building a fort with just a handful of pillows?”  He asks.

“I’m calling room service,” you explain.  “They can leave us a bunch more bedding while we’re out today, and we can pick up some twinkling fairy lights for the inside when we go shopping.”

Leonard rolls his eyes and quirks one corner of his mouth up in a small smile.

“You’re unbelievable,” he says with a chuckle.

With that, the two of you get ready for your day out on the town.  Before long, you’re exploring the planet’s biggest city’s exclusive downtown district, sampling exotic treats and picking up a few souvenirs along the way.  You’re delighted when one of the shops you stop by has the sort of twinkle lights you’d been thinking about for the pillow fort and you pick up a couple of strands for good measure.  By day’s end, you’re exhausted from all the sightseeing and adventuring, but not so much so that you’re not still excited.

“Yes!”  You exclaim as you and Leonard walk into your hotel room and find the assortment of pillows and blankets you’d requested from room service stacked neatly on the bed.

You can practically feel Leonard rolling his eyes behind you but you refuse to let him put a damper on things.  Instead, you set your bags down against the room’s far wall and move off to change into your pajamas, urging Leonard to do the same.  It only takes the two of you a few minutes and soon you’re standing in front of the bed, surveying your supplies.

“Can you move those chairs into this corner?”  You ask, pointing to the aforementioned items.  “They’ll make a great frame for the fort.”

“You’ve got it,” Leonard says resignedly, moving to do as you’ve asked.

As he pushes the four high-backed arm chairs into position with the seats facing out, you begin to arrange the mountain of cushions and pillows on the bed into a pallet on the floor.  Before long, you’ve wrangled them into a plush bed with comfortable little nooks to sit and cuddle in and you’re covering everything with a blanket to keep the pillows from sliding apart.  You can feel Leonard watching you and you grin.

“Well don’t just stand there,” you tease.  “Get down here and give me a hand.  You can’t put zero effort in and expect a warm welcome later!”

You shuffle over a little as Leonard joins you and start handing him little decorative throw pillows to arrange in any crannies left over after the initial layering.  At the same time, you climb to your feet and start shaking out the variety of blankets, throws, and gauzy sheets the hotel staff have left for you.  They’re multicolored and decorated with elaborate embroidery that you’re sure will look amazing lit from within by the fairy lights.

As Leonard finishes up, you move across the room and retrieve a tall floor lamp, unplugging it and carrying it over to the fort area.  Moving carefully, you set it down right in the center of the circle of chairs and tuck the cord safely underneath a few pillows so no one will step on it.  Stepping back, you ensure it’s in the right place before moving back over to the bed.

“Now what?”  Leonard asks as he tucks the last cushion into place.

“Now’s the fun part,” you say with a grin.  “Now we get to hang the blankets.”

You start with the largest one - a light, thin sheet fit for a king-sized bed.  You hand it to Leonard and instruct him to drape it over the floor lamp.  From there, the fort starts to come together and within minutes it’s fully assembled in all its glory.  

Taking a step back and tugging Leonard along with you, you admire the roughly eight foot by eight foot enclosure.  It peaks in the center over the floor lamp, and the blankets trail gracefully from the apex down and over the high-backed chairs.  Looking up at Leonard, you gesture to the bags you’d picked up earlier in the afternoon.

“You get the snacks out,” you instruct.  “Meanwhile, I’ll hang the lights and in a few minutes you’ll get to experience an honest-to-goodness blanket fort in all its glory.”

As Leonard agrees, you head over to the bags and find the lights.  You dash into the blanket fort, parting the makeshift door you’d left in place for easy access and closing it again behind yourself.  It only takes you a couple of minutes to string the lights up all over the place - around the tops of the chairs and spiraled down the floor lamp’s post - and then you gather the plugs.  Reaching under the back wall of the fort, you plug them into a nearby socket and gasp as the lights wink on, illuminating the small, cozy space.

“Leonard, you’ve got to see this!”  You exclaim.

You push aside one of the door flaps again to admit him as he stoops down with a small pastry box in one hand and a bottle of some kind of exotic beverage that had come highly recommended by the locals in the other.  You watch his face as he sets the items down and crawls in, biting your lip as you wait for his verdict.

The smile that follows is all the assurance you need.

“Do you love it?”  You ask.

“Darlin’, it looks great,” Leonard says, glancing around as he crawls forward and joins you in a pile of cushions, making himself comfortable.  “I really did miss out.”

You squeal excitedly and launch yourself at him, nearly toppling him over as you attach yourself to him and snuggle in.  He shifts around so he’s sitting with his back against one of the chairs, steadying himself and giving you more space to crawl into his lap.  You happily take advantage of his new position and settle yourself on his thighs, wrapping one arm around his waist as you use his chest as a pillow.

“If I can convince the quartermaster to cough up some extra bedding, would you want to build one of these in your quarters?”  You ask with a smile.

Leonard’s hearty laughter rocks the both of you as he wraps one arm around your shoulders to steady you and keep you close.

“Why don’t we stick to shore leave?”  Leonard suggests.  “It can be our little tradition.  It’ll make it that much more special.”

You consider it for a moment and agree with a contented hum, nuzzling into his chest.  You reach for the small pastry box with your free hand and untie the ribbon holding it closed, popping open the lid to inspect the treats inside.  They’re French macarons of varying colors and flavors, and you bite your lip as you pluck a pink one out from the folds of the tissue paper that’s holding them snug.  Bringing it to your lips, you give it an experimental sniff before biting into it.  It tastes like nothing you’ve ever tried before - sweet and fruity, but completely foreign - and you hold the other half of the pastry up for Leonard.

“Can we just stay here forever?”  You ask as he plucks the macaron from your fingers.  “The replicators never get macarons right.”

Leonard rolls his eyes as he thoughtfully chews the pastry.  The two of you sit in a companionable silence for a while with Leonard’s hand lazily stroking your back through your thin pajama shirt and his heartbeat thumping against your cheek.  After a while, you glance up at him and find his head tipped back against the chair back behind him, his eyes closed.  You can tell he’s not asleep, but he’s more relaxed than you’ve ever seen him and your heart swells with love for him.

“Will you read me a story?”  You ask quietly, half hoping he hasn’t heard you.

His eyes open and he glances down at you with a lazy smile, nodding.

“Of course, sweetheart,” he says softly.  “What kind of story?”

You pull away from him somewhat reluctantly and crawl out of the fort, making for your luggage.  You pull the book you’d packed out of the duffel’s depths and crawl back into the fort.  As Leonard takes the book from you, you nestle yourself in the pillows on the floor, getting comfortable and laying your head in Leonard’s lap.

“It was my favorite book when I was a kid,” you explain.

Leonard smiles as he flips to the first page.  His free hand comes down to cup your cheek and stroke it gently, soothing and luring you into a state of utter relaxation as he begins to read.

“Mr. and Mrs. Dursley, of number four, Privet Drive, were proud to say that they were perfectly normal, thank you very much…”


	13. Bones x Reader - Doctor Visits

You sigh inwardly as you hop up onto the same bio bed you’ve been occupying once daily for the past three weeks, staring at the same old spot you always do on the ceiling as you lie back to wait for Dr. M’Benga.

It had all started with an away mission to help stabilize an unstable reactor core in a dilithium mining facility on the outer fringes of Federation space.  As a doctor, you’d had no place on the team in helping to fix the problem, but you’d been sent along to tend to a number of wounded miners and technicians.  During your trip and before the engineering team could resolve the problem, the reactor core had become completely destabilized and it was all the Enterprise could do to beam out as many as they could.  You and your team had escaped on a shuttle, but had been exposed to a not-negligible amount of ionizing radiation.  On-board instruments had estimated it to be around three to four Grays’ worth, and so the whole team had been ordered to follow up with medical daily until such a time as the doctors determined no one had suffered any ill effects from the exposure.

For most of the crew it had been business as usual in the wake of the meltdown, but because of the proximity in which your work demanded you be with people whose bodies may already have been compromised by illness or injury, you’d been relegated to desk duty.  It had been fun for about two hours, and then it had gotten really old, really fast.

The sound of the door to the room sliding open snaps you out of your reverie, though it doesn’t draw your attention.  You’re so used to this situation by now that you just want to get it over with.

“Morning, Geoff,” you say with a tired smile, your eyes still fixed on the ceiling.

“Guess again, sweetheart,” Leonard’s voice says instead, penetrating the fog of banality that has settled over you.

Turning your head, you glance over at him as he approaches your bedside with a smile on his face.  Your expression becomes more serious and questioning as he activates the bio bed and takes a glance at your readings.

“What are you doing here?”  You ask.  “You’re not typically one for impropriety.”

He chuckles as he picks up a tricorder and starts running it over your body in a methodical manner, searching for any traces of latent damage from the radiation.

“Signing you off for active duty,” he explains.  “Starfleet wanted the order to come from me, so Geoff handed your case over.”

You grin at the thought of finally being able to go back to patient care.

“Seriously?”  You say incredulously.  “But it’s a week early; exposure to low levels of radiation can take up to a month to show up.”

“Seriously,” Leonard assures you.  “You’ve shown no signs so far, and so long as your exam today is normal, there’s no reason you shouldn’t get back to work.  You’re going to have to keep taking the iodine supplements for another week just to be safe and we’ll do one last scan at the end of that but otherwise you’ll be good to go.”

You can’t help but kick your feet a little in excitement at the announcement and you earn yourself a stern look from Leonard as he pauses his scanning for a moment to let you settle back down.  You shoot him an apologetic glance and bite your lip to hide a smile as he finishes up.  Once he’s done and setting the tricorder aside you move to sit up but he stops you with a firm hand on your shoulder.

“I’m not done, sugar,” he admonishes gently.  “Just relax for a few more minutes.”

You furrow your eyebrows, wondering what more he could possibly need to do.  It’s standard operating procedure to run diagnostics remotely and non-invasively using a tricorder - which he’s already done - and any other scans would be extraneous.

You watch Leonard as he opens a drawer at the side of the room and through your own familiarity with the med bay and its contents you suddenly realize what he means to do.

“Trust you to want to do things the old school way,” you tease.  “This really isn’t necessary, Len.”

He turns back to face you and approaches the bed with a stethoscope hung around his neck, freeing his hands so he can touch you.

“It’s true, then,” he says impishly.  “Doctors really do make the worst patients.”

Rolling your eyes, you reach up and playfully swat at him as his hands come to settle on your neck.  You level a teasing glare on him as his fingertips search for any traces of illness or injury, and though his touch is clinical you still find yourself enjoying it.  You continue watching him as he moves on to poke and prod at your abdomen instead, his hand snaking up underneath your tunic, his features screwed up in concentration.

“Are you finished yet?”  You ask with a grin.

Leonard raises and eyebrow at you as he pulls away, reaching for the stethoscope around his neck.

“Keep that up and I may just make the recommendation to keep you confined to your desk a little while longer,” Leonard threatens jokingly.

“No,” you whine dramatically, drawing out the end of the word.

Leonard winks at you before putting on the serious face again and inserting the stethoscope’s ear tips into his ears.  You endure the auscultation like a model patient, breathing when he asks you to without complaint and holding still for as long as it takes him to finish up.  

You follow him with your gaze as he pulls away and hangs the stethoscope back up around his neck, and you’re both surprised and relieved when he offers you a hand to help you sit up.  Not wanting to look a gift horse in the mouth, you take it gratefully and pull yourself into a sitting position before swiveling around so you can hang your legs over the edge of the bed.

“So?”  You ask impatiently, reaching out to take Leonard’s hands in yours.

“You’re in tip-top shape, darlin’,” Leonard announces, giving your hands a squeeze.  “I’m signing you off for regular duties.”

You tug on his hands excitedly, pulling him closer so you can press a kiss to his lips.  It’s brief and chaste, but it’s enough to send a flare of heat through your body.

“ _Finally_ ,” you groan.  “I thought I’d never get back to work.”

You sigh contentedly and shift around a bit, shuffling to the edge of the bio bed and hopping off of it, glancing up at Leonard.

“But now what excuse will I have to get you to put your hands on me?”  You query teasingly.

“Darlin’, you don’t need an excuse,” Leonard assures you.  “All you’ve got to do is ask.”

You smile mischievously and step up so you’re toe to toe with him, reaching out to grasp his wrists, putting his hands on your hips.  

“This is me asking,” you whisper exaggeratedly.

You groan in contentment as you feel his palms smooth over your sides and around to your back.  You tuck yourself into him as his hands sweep across your spine in broad, gentle strokes, eliciting goosebumps in their wake.  It feels so amazing that you never want it to stop, but you know that you need to be getting to work now that you’re cleared for duty.

“Let’s continue this later, shall we?”  You suggest, pulling away and sidestepping Leonard so you can make your way to the door.  “I’ve got work to do.”

“Report to my quarters at the end of Alpha,” Leonard calls at your retreating back.

You throw up a hand in an acknowledging wave and are about to tap the security panel to open the door when his voice catches up to you again.

“And don’t forget the iodine!”

Glancing over your shoulder, you smile serenely and reach for the counter to the right of the door, snatching a small vial up off of it.  You pop it open, swallow the liquid inside in one quick sip, make a face, and toss the empty vial in the biohazard box.  Turning toward the door again, you wave over your shoulder once more and make your way out of the room.   As you walk toward the nurses’ desk to start your shift, your mind is already far away and on all of the sorts of touches you’re going to ask Leonard for later on in the evening.


	14. Bones x Reader - Hugs

“Are you alright, Y/N?”

You close your eyes and sigh inwardly as the voice of the ship’s CMO washes over you from behind.  Making a conscious effort to relax and drop your shoulders, you steel yourself before glancing over your shoulder from where you’re working on a report to look at him.

“Just fine, Len,” you reply.  “Thank you.”

He shrugs and seems mostly satisfied so you turn back to your work, doing your best to ignore him as he lingers in the lounge.  He’s just as welcome in the space as you are, and so while you want to ask him to leave you alone, you know you have no right.  Instead, when his presence becomes a bit too much and you decide you need to be alone for a while, you pack up your PADD and breeze out of the room, heading for shuttle bay three, which you know to be empty at the moment.

As you enter the shuttle bay, the overhead lights flicker to life and you know there’s no one else around.  Satisfied, you settle yourself down on a cargo container and set your PADD in your lap again, throwing yourself into your writing so that your mind doesn’t wander off to dark places.

It’s goes well at first, but after a while you find yourself feeling distracted.  You stop with a sigh, closing your eyes and pinching the bridge of your nose as you finally face the anxiety and depression that have been trailing you since early in the morning.  Knowing you won’t be able to concentrate any longer anyway, you give up on finishing your report and tuck your PADD back into your bag.

As you hop off of the cargo crate, you land awkwardly and find yourself sailing through the air for a split second before hitting the ground hard.  You grunt as the air is driven from your lungs in a rush and lie still for a moment, collecting your bearings.  Once you’ve steeled yourself a little bit, you carefully roll over and hiss at the twin pangs of agony that echo in your knees and chest.

You stare at the ceiling for a short while before taking a steadying breath and attempting to sit up.  It’s done easily enough, though not without pain radiating through your battered rib cage.  Once you’re upright, you sit still for another moment or two before making the last journey to a standing position.  Once you’re up, you test your limbs a little, glad to find most of your aches are nothing serious.  As you look down at your knees, though, you see that the fabric of your uniform is torn and one of them has a deep cut in it from a rivet in the deck plating.

“Damn it,” you grumble.

Reaching for your bag, you sling it over your shoulder and head for the door, making your way up to the med bay to get your knee taken care of.  Your feelings of depression are temporarily forgotten as you focus on the stinging in the wound and you thank the stars for small blessings; you’d rather deal with a bit of physical pain over emotional turmoil any day.

You reach the med bay in short order and check in at the main desk.  A nurse points you in the direction of a free bed and you thank her with a small nod before moving over to it and taking a seat.  Your gaze darts around the room as you fiddle with the hem of your tunic, anxiously awaiting a doctor.

“Well, fancy seeing you again so soon,” Leonard’s voice suddenly invades your reverie.

Turning your head to face forward, you’re met with the sight of him looking down at the PADD in his hand and scrolling through your file.  He glances up a moment later and meets your gaze with an uncharacteristically soft expression on his face.

“What happened?”  He asks, gesturing to your knee as he sets his PADD aside in favor of a tricorder.

“The deck plating and I had a difference of opinion,” you mutter sarcastically.

The doctor chuckles.

“I’d hate to see the other guy,” he teases.  “Is this the only place you’re injured?”

You nod, watching him as he sets the tricorder aside and pulls on a pair of gloves.  You wince as he pulls the shredded fabric around the wound aside to expose it, turning away as your stomach protests at the sight of the blood.

“This is an easy fix,” Leonard comments after a moment.  “I’ll get it numbed up, cleaned out, and run a dermal regenerator over it.  You’ll be good as new in no time.  Just go ahead and lie back.”

You acquiesce, doing as he’s asked while he sets up for the procedure.  In no time at all, he’s managed to administer the anaesthetic and clean the wound, and you’re in no more discomfort as he works to mend it.  The unfortunate thing about being out of pain, though, is that in the silence that pervades the atmosphere as the doctor works, your mind goes into overdrive and latches on to all of the unpleasant thoughts and feelings you’ve been trying to repress all day.

You’re so lost in thought twenty minutes later that it takes you a moment to realize that your boyfriend is finished and addressing you.  It’s not until he puts a hand on your shoulder that you really snap out of it and you realize too late that you’ve got tear tracks on your cheeks.

“Are you in pain, Y/N?”  He asks gently, his brow furrowed.

You shake your head, reaching up to dash away what’s left of your tears.  Shrugging off his hand, you sit up and swing your legs over the edge of the bed.

“Thank you for fixing me up, doc,” you murmur.  “Am I free to go?”

You start a little when his hands land on your shoulders a moment later, garnering your attention.  You slowly look up at him and flounder a little under his scrutinizing gaze.  You know that he knows you well enough to see right through the lie, but you hope he doesn’t pry.  In your experience, talking too much about the kinds of feelings you’re having only makes things worse.

“I won’t keep you here against your will,” he says softly.  “But if you’d like to stay and talk, or even just not be alone for a while, I’m happy to keep you company.  Or if you’d rather, I’m off in an hour - you can go ahead to my quarters and I can meet you when I’m finished.”

You sigh and shake your head.

“It’s alright,” you assure him.  “Promise.  I’m just having an off day; I’ll be fine.”

Leonard’s hands slip from your shoulders and down your arms, all the way to your hands.  He takes them in his own and squeezes them gently before tugging you forward, encouraging you to hop off of the bio bed.  You scoot the its edge and carefully slide off, landing gracefully in front of him with him steadying you.  

As you straighten up, he lets go of your hands and brings his own to your hips, pulling you closer.  He watches you for any sign that you’re not feeling the affection as he slowly wraps his arms around you, pressing you into his chest.  

You close your eyes as you’re locked in his protective embrace and inhale the faint scent of his body wash as it mingles with the med bay’s antiseptic tang.  To some the overly clean scent might be a complete turn off, but to you it’s familiar and comforting, and you feel some of your anxieties leave you as you press your cheek to Leonard’s chest.

The sound of his heartbeat beneath your ear is soothing and it calms your own unsteadily thumping heart.  Listening closely to it, you slowly wrap your arms around Leonard in return, leaning into him and clinging to the back of his tunic as his hands slowly roam over your back, caressing your skin and gently kneading some of the tension out of your muscles.

You’re not sure how long the two of you spend standing there; it could be minutes, or it could be hours.  All you’re sure of is the fact that somehow, Leonard’s presence, his embrace, are like a panacea for the aching in your heart.  The longer you stand connected with him, the further away you can push your inner turmoil.

Eventually, you reluctantly pull away and put just enough space between the two of you to be able to look at him.  You smile, wordlessly letting him know that you’re okay, and he leans in to press a gentle kiss to your forehead.

“There’s that smile I love to see,” he murmurs.  “I take it you’re feeling better?”

You  nod.

“Yes, thank you,” you reply.  “Looks like that hug was just what I needed.”

Leonard chuckles softly and nods, reaching up to gently brush a hand over your cheeks.

“Now I want you to go back to my quarters and take it easy until I get off,” he instructs you.  “Doctor’s orders.”

You roll your eyes and playfully swat his chest.

“Yes sir,” you say, feigning seriousness.  “I’ll see you soon.”

You wave at him over your shoulder as you turn and make your way back into the main part of the med bay, leaving him standing there and watching after you.  You turn the corner and stop, biting your lip for a moment before spinning back around and dashing into the room again.  You rush up to Leonard, throw your arms around him, and squeeze him tight in a quick bear hug before stepping back again.

“One more for the road,” you announce.

And with that, you turn on your heel and scurry away, the sound of Leonard’s laughter following you right to the med bay doors, making your heart lighter than it has been all day.


	15. Bones x Reader - Kisses

You’ve been growing increasingly depressed over the last week, and it seems to be compounding more and more quickly the longer you’re away from the Enterprise.

It had started out as a diplomatic mission - simple, straightforward - and had ended in you, the captain, a xenoanthropologist, and two security officers running for your lives as a civil war broke out in the big city.  You’d all managed to lose your comms and phasers in the fray, and you’ve been sitting ducks ever since.

You swipe at a tear that’s rolling down your cheek before anyone can see it as you and the others sit around a campfire and await rescue.  You know it’s just a matter of time before they manage to isolate your bio signs apart from those of the planet’s native peoples and beam you out, but the isolation is starting to get to you.  Sure, you’re in good company, but the fact that you haven’t been touched affectionately in a week is starting to make you feel desperately lonely.

The captain has asked how you’re doing multiple times and you know he can sense that something’s wrong, but he seems satisfied when you tell him that you’re just anxious and missing the safety and familiarity of the Enterprise.  You’re sitting aside after just such a lie when you suddenly, blessedly feel the familiar static buzz of the transporter.  You close your eyes and sigh in relief as it wraps you in its golden light and spirits you away.

You open your eyes again moments later when you feel solid ground beneath your boots, and you ignore the relieved sighs of everyone around you as you scan the room for your boyfriend.

“What the hell happened out there?”  Leonard’s angry voice rings out from off to the left of the platform.

You cower a little, worried his words are aimed at you, but as you watch him out of the periphery of your gaze, you realize that while he’s striding towards you, he’s looking and bristling at Jim.  As he approaches you, his arms are open for an embrace and you all but launch yourself into his arms.  The second your bodies make contact, he loses track of whatever Jim is explaining in the background and focuses intently on you, pulling you into a tight embrace and pressing a kiss to your forehead.

“Sweetheart, are you alright?”  He asks.  “I’ve been so damn worried about you that I had half a mind to get into a shuttle and go looking for you myself.”

“I missed you,” you say by way of reply.

“I missed you, too, darlin’,” he murmurs, pulling away and holding you at arm’s length so he can look at you.  “Let’s get you down to medical and get you checked out.”

“I’m fine,” you argue quietly.

“Do as he says, Y/N,” Jim suddenly orders from beside you, startling you.  “We’re all suffering the effects of exposure; I expect everyone to report to sick bay on the double.”

“Yes sir,” you say flatly.

You allow Leonard to escort you off of the platform and into the nearby turbo lift alongside the other members of your party.  Before long, you find yourself in the med bay, lying on a bio bed and watching Leonard work over you, tricorder in hand.  You’re trying to be patient, but it’s not working very well and before long, you can’t help but reach up to grasp at his sleeve, getting his attention at last.  He looks confused at first, but as he takes in the frown on your lips and the heartache in your eyes it’s like a fog is lifted and he can suddenly understand exactly what you want.

“Oh, sugar, I’m so sorry,” he says softly, setting the tricorder aside and leaning in closer to you with one last look at the figures on the bio bed’s readout overhead.

As he puts his hands on you, cupping your face gently and stroking his thumbs over your cheekbones, you let out a sigh and close your eyes.  His touch is more restorative and reinvigorating than any of the medicines in his arsenal could ever be and you know it must be having a positive effect on your physiology as much as your psyche as Leonard lets out a satisfied grunt.

“It’s my fault for not thinking,” he murmurs.  “But I wish you’d reminded me sooner that you wanted to be touched.”

“Can we just go back to your quarters?”  You ask quietly.  “I don’t like it here.”

“I know, baby girl,” Leonard murmurs.  “But you need some IV fluids and I need to get your electrolytes back in balance.  It won’t take long; an hour or two, at most, and then I can take you away from here.”

“Will you stay close?”  You ask.

“Of course,” he replies.

You hum contentedly and let yourself relax against the bio bed, leaning your face into Leonard’s touch.  His hands slowly slip lower, gently caressing your neck and shoulders, stroking along your upper arms.  As Christine moves in to start an IV and get your fluids and supplements going, Leonard pulls a stool closer to your bedside and takes your hand, settling his other palm on your thigh and petting it gently while you get your treatment.

At some point you doze off, and you don’t even realize it until you feel someone shaking your shoulders a while later, rousing you from your slumber.  Leonard swims into view overhead and as you shift around a little, you realize the pull of the IV line is gone from around where it had been inserted into your hand.

“Let’s get you out of here, darlin’,” Leonard says softly.

You smile and agree with a nod, letting him help you up and off of the bio bed.  It takes you a moment to steady yourself as you stand up but Leonard steps right in, supporting you with an arm around you.  

The walk to his quarters isn’t a very long one, but it tires you out nevertheless.  When you reach his bed, you all but collapse onto it, keeping a hold of his hand all the while so he can’t move away.  Respecting your need for close physical contact, Leonard wordlessly encourages you to scoot over and make room for him, then promptly lays down facing you.

“I was so scared I’d lost you,” he whispers nearly inaudibly.

“I was scared I’d never see you again,” you reply.  “But I’m back, and we’ve got a week of cuddling to make up for.”

“Geoff’s covering my next two days,” Leonard says.  “We can spend as much time together as you need, now come here.”

You don’t hesitate for so much as a beat before wiggling closer to him, right into his open, waiting arms.  As he wraps them around you, he shifts down a little so the two of you are face to face.  He spends a long minute just looking at you, his eyes sweeping across your face like he’s memorizing your features all over again.  When he’s had his fill, he finally, slowly leans toward you.

As he captures your lips with his, your breath gets caught in your chest and your heart flutters.  You fist your hand in his tunic and whimper softly against his lips.  It’s not a fiery, passionate kiss by any means, but it’s familiar and welcoming, and it’s more home to you than anything else.  It makes you feel safe, loved, and cared for.

Leonard breaks the kiss a moment later, but only moves away a half inch, just enough to give you a chance to breathe before he closes the gap again and picks up where he left off. 

The two of you spend the next half hour completely lost in one another, kissing until your breathing is short and your lips are swollen and oversensitive.  Even then, though, you’re reluctant to stop.  You feel as close to him as you ever have, and pulling away even a couple of inches threatens to throw you headlong back into your anxieties.  It’s only Leonard’s continued proximity that keeps you grounded.

As he pulls you close once again, you realize there’s no threat of him moving away any time soon.  His lips are on you again a second later, this time brushing over your forehead, your cheeks, your jaw.  He’s plastering kisses to every bit of skin he can reach, and as he starts moving lower, you can’t help but realize that he intends on showing you just how close he can get and just how much of you he can touch now that you’re back together.

You wouldn’t stop him for anything in the world.


	16. Bones x Reader - Nursing the Sick One

You cross your arms over your chest as you stand in the doorway to Leonard’s bedroom, watching him cough into a throw pillow as he lays miserably on his side in bed.

“Trust you to catch this bug before the lab could come up with a vaccine,” you say cheekily, rolling your eyes as he whines pathetically into the pillow in the wake of his paroxysm.

“Damn it, Y/N, I’m a doctor,” he argues weakly, tipping his head up to look at you at last.  “I don’t get sick.”

“Tell that to the virus that’s currently ransacking your body,” you urge sarcastically.  “Go ahead, I’ll wait.”

You can’t help but smile as he levels a glare at you.  Even in his weakened state it cuts right through his misery and gives you a glimpse of the strength beneath it all.  Uncrossing your arms, you step forward and move to perch at the edge of the bed beside him, reaching out to stroke your fingers through his damp hair.

“No, stop, I don’t want you to get sick,” Leonard mumbles.

“I take it you’ve been too miserable to look at your PADD,” you say lightly, arching your eyebrow.  “If you had, you’d know that the team finished work on the vaccine hours ago.  The remaining unaffected crew - myself included - have all been inoculated.”

“You’re not guaranteed immunity for-”

You cut him off.

“Two weeks,” you finish.  “I know, but at Dr. M’Benga’s behest, we’ve all been given a prophylactic antiviral, too, so cool your jets.  I can take care of myself, Doctor, and right now, you need to let me take care of you, too.”

He groans by way of response and pauses for a long moment before nodding hesitantly.  You grin brightly at his acquiescence and slip your hand from his hair down to his forehead, feeling the heat of a fever burning beneath the skin there.

“I should probably take you down to med bay,” you murmur.

Leonard shakes his head.

“I’m fine,” he assures you.  “Nothing I can’t treat here.  I just need my med kit.”

He just barely manages to get the words out before another coughing fit hits him.  You gently rub his back as his body convulses with the force of the coughs and your heart aches for him.  If it’s bad enough getting sick when you’re not responsible for the well-being of everyone else on board the ship, you can only imagine how horribly Leonard must be feeling carrying that additional weight of responsibility.

“Why don’t we try to break your fever the way my mama always used to when I was a kid,” you suggest.  “The old fashioned way.  We can save the medicine for if we really need it.”

Leonard peers at you with teary, half-lidded eyes, his curiosity piqued.

“I’m going to run you a bath,” you explain.

He looks like he wants to argue but eventually he relents with a nod.  You lean forward, press a gentle kiss to his forehead, and move off into the en suite bathroom.  It’s much larger than the one in your own quarters and actually has a tub rather than just a shower enclosure.  You smile wryly at the memory of the one time another office - Mr. Scott - had been in the bath when the gravity had gone out.  You’d caught him quite literally swimming out of his quarters and toward engineering in naught but a bath towel wrapped around his waist and it still makes you laugh every time you think of it.

Crossing your fingers and hoping for no such disaster this time, you quickly turn on the faucet, adjusting it to a relatively cool temperature and letting it run while you collect a few towels and cloths.  Less than ten minutes later, everything is ready for Leonard and you move back out into his bedroom to find him sitting on the end of his bed stark naked, his body covered in a fine sheen of perspiration.

“I was going to help you,” you say softly.

Moving to Leonard’s side, you stoop down to loop an arm around his waist and help him to his feet, carefully steering him into the bathroom.  It takes a bit of shifting around and awkward re-positioning, but eventually you get him settled in the tub.  He shivers as the cool water envelops him but doesn’t complain as he sits back and tries to get comfortable.  As he does so, you move to his medicine cabinet and open it up, searching through its contents until you find what you’re looking for - an old-school glass thermometer.

Plucking it from its resting place, you glance at its scale and quickly shake it down to baseline before turning to Leonard.  You step up to his side and reach the thermometer out toward him.

“Open up,” you instruct.

As he does so with a bit of a glare, you carefully slip the thermometer under his tongue and pat his cheek as he closes his mouth around it.

“Stay like that until I come back,” you tell him.  “I won’t be a minute.”

You swiftly stride back out into his quarters proper and look around for a chair.  You spot one in the corner of the room with his clothes from earlier draped over it and quickly toss them in the laundry hamper instead, picking up the chair and carrying it into the bathroom.  You set it down next to the tub so you can keep him company in comfort and settle into it just as you catch him removing the thermometer and scrutinizing its scale.

“So?”  You ask.

“I have a fever,” he replies with a sigh.

You roll your eyes and snatch the thermometer out of his grip, looking at it for yourself.

“Not as high as I thought, at least,” you decide, relief flooding through you.  “Relax now, Len; let me take care of you.”

He nods and lets his eyes flutter closed.  In turn, you reach over and set aside the thermometer, exchanging it for one of the wash cloths you’d taken out.  Dipping the cloth in the water, you lift it and let the droplets dripping off of it hit Leonard’s chest as you bring the cloth up to wipe down his face and neck.  He groans softly at your touch but presses his face into your hand, clearly enjoying the attention.

You take your time to carefully scrub every inch of skin that’s exposed to you, gently massaging some of the tense muscles in Leonard’s neck and shoulders.  You can feel him melting at your fingertips and before long he’s relaxed enough that he begins snoring softly, conked right out from the exhaustion.

Setting the cloth aside, you press a palm to his forehead again and let out a sigh of relief as you realize the heat of the fever beneath his skin has eased a little.  Knowing it won’t be long before he starts to shiver, you reluctantly reach out and give his shoulder a gentle shake, rousing him.

“Let me wash your hair really quick so we can get you out of here and into bed so you can take a proper nap,” you murmur.

Leonard nods and slowly sits up, groaning as the movement makes his stiff muscles ache in protest.  In the meantime, you reach behind the tub and pick up a jug you’d placed there earlier, dipping it into the water to fill it and then gently pouring it over his head, carding your fingers through his hair.  You quickly move on to adding some shampoo, working it through the short strands and into a fluffy lather for a minute before moving to rinse it again.  The whole time, Leonard is more passive and compliant than you’ve ever seen him, and you’re grateful that he’s not trying to fight you like you expected he might.

“All done,” you announce as you wash the last of the soap from his hair.  “Let’s get you out of that water before the chill sets in.”

Leonard agrees wordlessly and gets to his feet while you fetch a towel.  As he steps carefully out of the tub, you wrap him up in it and rub him down to dry him off, leaving his skin pink from the stimulation.  Once he’s dried off, you wrap him in a dry towel and steer him into the bedroom, helping him change into a clean set of pajamas.  Before long, you get him settled in bed and look down at him as you tuck the covers up around his chin.

“I’m sure your throat is raw from the coughing,” you say softly.  “Why don’t I go make you a Fanalian Toddy?”

You’re about to turn and step away when Leonard reaches out and grasps your wrist to stop you.  You look down at him once more and reach out with your free hand to cup his cheek, stroking your thumb over it as he gazes up at you.

“Thank you,” he says hoarsely.

You smile, shaking your head.

“No need,” you deflect.  “You’ve taken care of me enough times, it’s my turn to pay it forward.”

Leaning down, you press a kiss into his hair and then his forehead before brushing your lips briefly over his.  You want to linger, but you don’t want to tempt fate, even with the vaccine and prophylactics on board.

“I’ll be right back,” you say.

Leonard lets you go as you turn away again and you hurry into the kitchen.  You program the replicator, slide a mug under the dispenser, and lean against the counter in wait.  It takes less than half a minute for the replicator to make the drink and you inhale its sweet, soothing aroma as you cross carefully back into Leonard’s bedroom with the mug in hand.

You approach his bed and carefully set the mug down on his nightstand, smiling softly as you realize he’s already drifted off to sleep.  Rather than waking him, you quickly strip off your uniform, pulling on one of Leonard’s old academy t-shirts before climbing into bed with him.  You carefully slip under the covers and scoot in close behind him, smiling at getting the chance to be the big spoon for once.

Within minutes, the heat of his body against yours lulls you into a light doze.  As you both rest up, the Fanalian Toddy stands cooling on the table, the only sign that anything is even amiss in your otherwise peaceful, perfect panorama.


	17. Bones x Reader - Forgetting Something

You stare at the pile of equipment by the front door with your lips pursed, wondering whether you’re really going to need everything Leonard has heaped there for a day trip.  You glance over your shoulder at him as you her him step up behind you and you smile wryly.

“I hope we don’t have to walk too far with all of this,” you comment.  “I’m no pack mule.”

Leonard chuckles softly and wraps an arm around your shoulders, leaning in to press a kiss to your temple.

“It looks like more than it is, sugar,” he assures you.  “And it’ll be worth it, I promise.”

You step forward as he moves around you to start carrying things to the car - a picnic basket, blankets, an umbrella, and a handful of other items - and between the two of you it only takes one trip.  It’s a little awkward but manageable and before long the two of you are settling into his dad’s old pickup truck and bumping along a winding dirt road, chasing the afternoon sun.

You drive through two hours and three bottles of water before Leonard takes a turn off of the road, through a gate, and down a lane splitting an enormous orchard in half.  There are apple trees, their boughs heavy with ripe fruit, as far as you can see in either direction and as you lean toward your rolled-down window and inhale, the scent of the pending harvest filling your nose.

“What is this place?”  You ask as Leonard turns off between a couple of trees and takes the two of you up a relatively short but fairly steep hill.

“It belongs to an old friend of the family,” he replies.  “Growing up my old man used to bring me out here every year to help with the harvest.  We used to have a blast hanging out in the trees all day and helping Mrs. Carlyle in the kitchen all night.  Apple pie, apple cider, apple sauce, you name it.”

The look in his eyes is faraway and the small smile pulling up at the corners of his mouth makes your heart swell with love for him.  It’s a joy to see him so relaxed and removed from all the stress he’s usually under on the Enterprise and you find yourself feeling relaxed by association in his easygoing presence.

You snap out of your reverie as the truck comes to a stop at the top of the hill and Leonard’s hand lands on your knee.

“We’re here,” he announces.

You grin and put a hand over his, squeezing it briefly before unclipping your seat belt and practically launching yourself out of the vehicle.  Your legs are stiff from being cooped up for over two hours and it feels wonderful to get the blood flowing back into them as you turn around, staring at the vast expanse of orchard before you.  There are apple trees as far as you can see and as their sweet scent envelops you you find you can’t wait to run down the hill and pick one for yourself.  You’re imagining the sweet tartness of apple flesh on your tongue and the trickle of juice on your lips as Leonard moves in to stand behind you, settling his hands on your shoulders.

“Go on then,” he encourages you.  “What are you waiting for?”

You bite your lip as you turn to face him, slipping out from his grasp.

“Would you think I was crazy if I said I want to roll down the hill like a little kid?”  You ask.

Leonard laughs - a warm, rich sound - and shakes his head.

“Follow your heart, darlin’,” he encourages.  “I won’t judge, I promise.”

You clap your hands excitedly and run toward the crest of the hill.  You practically throw yourself into the grass and start to roll immediately, green stains blossoming out on the fabric of your shorts and t-shirt as you tumble over and over.  Your laughter rings in the air as Leonard strolls down the hill after you, meeting you at the bottom where you’re lying on your back, watching the sky spin overhead as dizziness plagues you in the wake of the roll.

“I haven’t done that in years,” you say breathlessly.  “That was  _awesome_.”

As you push yourself up on your elbows, you glance over and see that Leonard has brought a large basket down from the truck and you clamber dizzily to your feet, excited.

“I’m  _so ready_  to pick some apples,” you affirm. “There are so many things I missed out on as a city kid.”

“Well we’ve got all day to make up for some of that,” Leonard says warmly, reaching out to gently tweak your chin.  “Now go on, get to picking.  I don’t know about you, but all that scenery flying by on the trip over has worked me up an appetite.”

You nod excitedly in acknowledgement and jog ahead, reaching out and placing your palms on the rough bark of the first apple tree you encounter.  Stopping beneath it, you glance up at its gnarled boughs and reach for one overhead, testing its strength by hanging your weight off of it.  It holds up well and before Leonard can tell you that you’re out of your corn-fed mind, you scramble up the tree and perch on a sturdy branch.  You swing your feet over one side and balance yourself, reaching up to pluck the nearest ruby red apple from among the leaves overhead.

“You just can’t do anything the easy way, can you?”  Leonard asks, coming into view below you.

“You mean the less fun way?”  You tease.

You reach down and tightly grip the bough you’re sitting on for purchase as you toss the apple down to Leonard and lean forward to pick another, then another, then another.  Before long, the basket is halfway full and you’re running out of apples at arm’s length.  Shifting around on the branch beneath you, you shimmy closer to the end of it, straining as you extend your arm up to grasp the next nearest fruit.  

As you reach forward, your balance shifts and you pitch ahead, slipping from where you’re sitting and plummeting toward the ground with a shriek.  Leonard drops the basket of apples he’s holding, sending fruit rolling everywhere, and dives forward.  It’s all for naught, however, as you hit the ground face-first, driving all of the air from your lungs and knocking yourself senseless.

“Don’t move, sugar!”  You hear Leonard’s voice drift over you as he scrambles toward you.

“I’m fine, Len,” you assure him breathlessly, rolling over onto your back with a groan.

He’s at your side in an instant, his palm coming to rest on your cheek, carefully turning your head a bit so he can get a look at the scrape on your chin.  You hiss in pain as you shift around a little more, moving off of the root that’s poking into your lower back and awakening the agony in some scrapes on your knees and palms.

“Just stay here, I’m going to go get my med-”

You raise an eyebrow as his expression goes from concerned to thoughtful to deeply disapproving in a matter of moments.

“What’s wrong?”  You ask.

Leonard sighs and shakes his head.

“I knew I’d forgotten something,” he grouses.

You bite your lip to stifle the giggles as you realize that the venerable Dr. McCoy has managed to leave the house without his trusty med kit.  You can’t hold them in for long, though, as it makes your newly bruised rib cage ache.  Instead, you allow yourself to chuckle as you push yourself into a sitting position in spite of Leonard’s protests.

“You need to let me check you out,” he says firmly.

“Can’t pull rank on me out here, doc,” you say with a smile.  “I promise you, I’m fine.  There is one thing you could do for me, though…”

Leonard’s imploring look wordlessly encourages you to go on.

“You could kiss it better,” you reason.

Leonard laughs softly and nods, leaning in closer until his lips are brushing yours and his arms are winding around you.

“You’ve got it, darlin’,” he murmurs.

All of your aches and pains are long forgotten and the lure of the sweetness of the sun-kissed apples scattered around you fizzles out as Leonard captures your lips with his.  The world is reduced to the two of you and the sights and sounds of the orchard are long lost as your breath mingles with his, chest to chest, heartbeat to heartbeat.

As the kiss deepens, you send up a distant thank you to the stars for small blessings and before long, you’re forgetting everything but him.


	18. Bones x Reader - Road Trip

“I can’t believe I woke up at five in the morning for this,” you mutter.

You’re bumping along in Leonard’s grandfather’s old, beat up pickup truck, kicking up dust with the windows down as the two of you clip along an old logging road somewhere in the Colorado Rockies.  You’ve already been on the road for two days, but Leonard has promised that you’ll reach your destination early today and that it’ll have been worth the trip.

A cold, half-empty cup of coffee suddenly appears under your nose and you follow the hand that’s holding it over to a smiling Leonard behind the wheel.  He glances over at you as you take the cup and sip from it, grimacing at the bitterness of the generic gas station brew therein.

“Cheer up, sweetheart,” Leonard implores you brightly.  “You’ll be able to stretch your legs really soon, and if the heat’s getting at you I can give the AC a try.”

You wrinkle your nose at the memory of the acrid scent of hot metal and plastic that filled the truck’s cab the day before when Leonard had first tried to turn on the AC in the old thing and shake your head.  The heat  _is_  a bit much, but you can tell the landscape is changing and that you’ll be plunged into shadows soon as the road winds into a thicket of trees in the near distance.

“So, are you going to tell me where we’re going now?”  You ask not for the first time.

“Now where’s the fun in that?”  Len shoots back, reaching over to pick up his own coffee and drain the last of it from its cup.

The two of you lapse into silence again as the trees whip by the windows while you cruise deeper and deeper into the Colorado wilderness.  There’s no one in front of or behind you, and you pass only one logging truck heading in the opposite direction over the next hour.  You can tell you’re climbing higher and higher into the mountains, but it’s impossible to tell how far below the valley floor sits through the dense forest around you.

You don’t even realize that you’ve dozed off until you feel gentle hands on your shoulders, shaking you awake.  You snap out of your light sleep and clear your throat as you blink the fuzziness from your vision and look over at Leonard who is standing in the passenger’s side door frame and smiling at you.

“Wake up, sleepyhead,” he teases gently.  “We’re here.”

You glance around and suddenly realize there’s a thunderous noise in the air.  At first you assume it’s the rumbling of thunder overhead, but as you glance around you quickly discover that you’re parked about a hundred yards away from the base of a colossal waterfall.  Your eyes widen and your mouth drops open in surprise and wonder, and you nearly choke yourself with your seat belt as you try to bolt out of the truck to get a closer look.

“Slow down, sugar,” Leonard says with a laugh.  “Let me get this off of you.”

You sit back against the seat once more as Leonard reaches across your lap and unclips your seat belt.  He pulls it off of you and pushes it out of the way, stepping aside to give you room to get out of the truck.  He holds out a hand to you as you swing your legs around and you take it with a smile, allowing him to help you down from the cab.  As soon as your feet hit the ground, you take off at a jog, tugging on Leonard’s hand and dragging him along with you.

Leonard is laughing as he jogs along with you, keeping up easily as you near the waterfall.  You can’t believe how high it is - it seems to come from the sky itself - and as you come to a stop near the edge of a large drop pool you survey the area.  There’s another waterfall that starts at the edge of the drop pool further over, but the pool is more than large enough that the powerful current doesn’t reach its outer fringes and you grin as you look over at Leonard.

“Can we swim in it?”  You ask.

“Well, it’s glacially fed so I don’t know if you’ll  _want_  to,” Leonard begins.  “But it’s safe, if that’s what you mean, so long as you don’t swim out too far.”

You’re already pulling your clothes off as he finishes up, regardless of his cautions, and you can’t wait for the bite of icy water against your over warm skin.  After a long, stuffy car ride, you’re excited just to be able to freshen up a little.  Tossing your tank top and shoes aside, you wade into the water in your shorts and bra, yelping at the chill.  It’s almost painful but it feels amazing and as you submerge yourself up to the shoulders, treading water with your legs pulled up even though you can still easily stand if you want to.  Turning around you face Leonard and wave him over.

“Come on in,” you shout.  “The water’s great!”

Leonard barks out a laugh but strips off his own shirt, adding it to your pile of clothes.  He wades in with a few exaggerated groans and comes to stand in front of you, reaching out to put his hands on your hips below the surface.  The spray from the waterfall is already collecting in his hair, making each strand shimmer in the sunlight with a rainbow sheen, and your breath is suddenly coming short as you realize not for the first time just how handsome he is.

“I love you,” you say suddenly in a rush.

Leonard sinks into the water to your level, his hands never leaving your hips, and presses his forehead to yours.

“I love you, too,” he echoes, gazing into your eyes for a long moment before closing the distance and pressing a gentle kiss to your lips.  

You wrap your arms around him and pull him closer, suddenly not minding the chill of the water so much as you come chest to chest.  Smiling into the kiss, you shift and wrap your legs around him to keep him close as the two of you begin to overbalance.  You fall, laughing, into the water and the torturous two and a half day drive quickly becomes a distant memory as your shore leave well and truly begins.


	19. Bones x Reader - Working Together

Things are getting out of control as rain pounds down on the hull of the shuttle you’re in.  Storms on Caldos II - one of the Federation’s earliest terraformed planets - have been raging out of control for weeks and there are no signs of an end in sight.  In light of the meteorological data at hand and the similarity of the storm system to the one raging in Jupiter’s red spot, the Federation has decided to jump ship and evacuate the planet’s population, but it’s going to take time.  In the meantime, you and the rest of the Enterprise’s medical crew are doing your best to tend to the illness and injury the storm has wrought on the local population.

“What’s our ETA?”  You ask the pilot as you shuffle from one patient to another, monitoring vitals and applying necessary interventions.

“Five minutes,” she replies.  “Landing’s going to be a bit bumpy, though, so hold on.”

You nod to yourself and ensure that your patients are as secure as possible in their seats and on their stretchers before strapping yourself in, too.  You’re already soaked to the bone, battered, and bruised after  _days_  of rescue missions, patient transfers, and working in the trenches.  You’ve been too busy to so much as sit down, and now that you’re on your way to the hospital to trade off with another nurse and do some ground work for a while all you can think about is drying off, warming up, and having a cup of coffee.

You grit your teeth and shut your eyes as the shuttle shudders and lands with a clatter, the creaking noise of rusting plating joints giving way to the unending sound of rain pelting the hull.  Unbuckling your harness, you get to your feet and start freeing your patients as the door to the shuttle is thrown open and a transport team rushes in to move people into the hospital.

You follow the last patient out of the shuttle, grabbing your med kit as you go and running the fifty feet across the landing pad to safety.  The heat registers as a prickling, burning sensation on the exposed parts of your skin and you hiss in mingled relief and discomfort.  Shaking off the feeling, you move to follow the last patient into the fray but you’re stopped by a strong hand on your shoulder.

“I’m relieving you of duty until you’ve warmed up, hydrated, and gotten some sleep,” Dr. McCoy says firmly.

Turning to face him, you scowl at the bags under his eyes and the slight but not negligible pallor in his cheeks.

“I’ll rest when you rest,” you argue.  “You can’t hold others to a standard you don’t observe yourself.”

Leonard runs a frustrated hand through his hair and shakes his head disapprovingly.

“I’m trying to go easy on you,” he says lightly.  “If anyone else came back from a transport in this shape, I’d have them in a bio bed on a saline drip, but I know you know your limits, and I’m trusting you to tell me if you’re in the kind of shape that calls for higher intervention.”

“And you?”  You ask.  “I’ll be floored if you’ve had anything more than coffee for sustenance in the last forty eight hours.”

Leonard’s silence is telling and you sigh in frustration.

“Far be it for me to tell the CMO how to do his job, but you know exactly what you’d be telling yourself if you were anyone else,” you say plainly.  “You can’t trust me to know when I’ve run myself ragged if you can’t trust yourself.  This place won’t fall apart without you for a few hours.  Now, I’m going to take a shower and get something to eat.  Join me in the cafeteria when you’ve come to your senses.”

You turn on your heel and disappear in the direction of the emergency department locker rooms without another word, too exhausted to be properly angry with him.  It takes you longer than it should to strip your wet and muddy gear off with tiredness weighing your limbs down, but soon enough you manage to get yourself into a hot shower.  You perk up a little as feeling starts to return to your frozen extremities and by the time you’re clean you feel like you could probably go another few hours, though you know a return to action would be insubordination and would likely cause an irreparable rift between you and Leonard.  Opting to do the smart thing instead, you slink back into the locker room proper and get into some clean, dry clothes.

Minutes later, you head toward the cafeteria and join the line up, glad to see that at least  _some_  of the staff are taking a moment to eat and regroup.  You’re just getting lost in thought as you wait when you hear your name being called from halfway across the room and your gaze flicks around until it settles on Leonard, who is flagging you down.

Leaving the line, you head for the table to find two trays on it, both laden with plenty of nutritionally-dense comfort food.  Wordlessly, you reach out and pluck a mug of hot herbal tea off of one of the trays and take a sip, groaning in relief as the heat of it fills your chest and warms you to the core.

“You’re right,” Leonard says softly.  “I can’t expect others to do as I say if I don’t give them a lead to follow, so I’ve signed us both off for twenty four hours.  I wanted to give us longer, but the first wave of Federation rescue ships will be here tomorrow and they’ll need all hands on deck to help move people.  The other nurses look to you for guidance, so I’ll need you to give it to them.”

You’re somewhat surprised by his willingness to let you back into the fray so soon, but you’re also extremely flattered by his praise.  Smiling, you reach out and take a hold of the hand he has resting on the table, giving it a squeeze.

“I can live with that,” you assure him.  “Just another couple of weeks and this will all be a memory - then we can rest.”

The two of you lapse into a companionable silence as you start in on the food.  A bowl of soup, a sandwich, and another mug of hot tea later, you gather your empty dishes and help Leonard carry them off to be cleaned before heading off to the staff dormitories that have been set up in an empty wing of the hospital.  Space is at a premium, but even if it wasn’t you’d be more than happy to double up in a bunk with Leonard.

Stepping into a room that’s empty but for one dozing paramedic on a cot across the way, the two of you pull the privacy curtain around the nearest bed and make yourselves at home.  Leonard climbs up first, and though there’s barely any wiggle room, he makes space for you, extending an arm to wrap around you as you lie down and nuzzle into his chest.  He’s warm and solid and familiar, and as he pulls a blanket up around the two of you, you find yourself fading fast.

“G’night, Len,” you murmur softly, your words already slurred by sleep.

“Goodnight, sweetheart,” he replies, tightening his embrace around you.  “Sweet dreams.”

The chaos and tragedy that surround the two of you are all forgotten as you slip into a deep, dreamless slumber, and for just a little while you forget about the aches, pains, and cold.  You know it won’t be a long rest, but you’re going to do your damnedest to make it count.


	20. Bones x Reader - Shopping

“We need to get out of this heat,” you whine as another bead of sweat trickles down your spine.  “This weather is unreal.”

Leonard agrees wholeheartedly as he drains the last few remaining mouthfuls of water from the bottle he’s holding.  

The two of you are ambling leisurely down a bustling street in your home town on shore leave, checking out the shops before you’re due at your parents’ for dinner.  You’ve already had three bottles of water and an ice cream, and you’re  _still_ far too warm for your liking.  It’s the end of July and you swear the sun has somehow moved closer to the Earth and is scorching everything it’s touching.  There’s no breeze to speak of and the air near the pavement is shimmering with heat.  You’re covered head to toe in sunscreen, but it’s doing nothing at all to cool you off, even if it is keeping you from burning to a crisp.

“In here,” Leonard say with a tug on the hand of yours he’s holding.

You notice he’d holding open a door and you don’t even know what kind of a store you’re stepping in to but you don’t care.  Moving past him, you walk into the shop and glance around, taking in your surroundings as the blessed chill of an air conditioner licks at your overly warm skin.

Everywhere you look, ancient-looking mirrors, bird cages, and other miscellaneous items adorn tables and walls.  There’s a grandfather clock in the corner that’s taller than Leonard, and behind the counter sits an elderly gentleman dressed like Oliver Twist with a linen shirt the color of parchment and a pair of brown slacks.  He smiles at the two of you, sympathetic to your plight, and goes back to reading the old book on the counter before him, leaving you and Leonard to look around.

“No, you’re too warm,” you complain as Leonard steps up, pressing his chest to your back and running his palms down your bare, sun-kissed arms.

“Sorry, sugar,” he says with a chuckle, giving you some space.

“We’re in an antique shop,” you muse aloud, ignoring his apology.  “I love little places like this!”

You’re grinning brightly as you step forward, wandering down the nearest makeshift aisle and stopping in front of a display of pocket watches.  Their cases are ornately carved and etched with various designs and some of the silver ones have tarnished a little with age, but they’re still beautiful.  Pointing to one near the front of the case, you glance over your shoulder at Leonard.

“You would look so dapper pulling one of these out of your pocket if someone asked you for the time,” you say softly.

“My dad used to have a watch like that,” Leonard murmurs.  “He gave it to me before he died but I left it with my ma for safe keeping when I joined Starfleet.”

You meet his gaze with a sympathetic one of your own, reaching up to squeeze his bicep as he reminisces a little.  The moment passes quickly, however, and Leonard steps past you to look at a beautiful old Tiffany lamp standing nearby.  As he admires its colors and design, you make a beeline for a section at the back of the shop reserved for antique toys.

There were all sorts of lovely, colorful items to look at: a faded lime green pogo stick, well-loved roller skates, a beautifully restored wooden rocking horse, and porcelain dolls in all sizes and styles.  You carefully pick one up, straightening its old-fashioned dress and smoothing down its silken hair.  It’s exquisitely crafted and you don’t realize how enthralled you are until Leonard’s sudden appearance at your side startles the living daylights out of you and you wind up nearly dropping the doll.

“Don’t do that!”  You admonish.  “You nearly scared me half to death!”

Leonard chuckles and reaches around you, running his fingers over the doll’s pinafore for a moment, admiring its craftsmanship.

“It reminds me of the dolls I used to collect as a kid,” you reminisce.

“What kind of dolls?”  Leonard asks.

“They were called Barbie dolls,” you answer wistfully, setting the doll back on its display.  “They were popular in the mid to late twentieth and early twenty first centuries.  They were a lot smaller than these dolls and they sort of faded out of existence after the third wave of feminism called the company producing them out on their unrealistic and frankly insulting portrayal of the female body.  Still, they were fun to have around.  I used to love brushing their hair and changing their outfits.”

You don’t notice the shopkeeper moving closer until he’s practically on top of the pair of you, smiling brightly and holding a faded pink box in his hands.  He holds it out to you with the clear plastic panel facing him so you’re not sure what exactly is in it, but you recognize the brand name scrawled on the top lid.

“I think you might like this,” he says warmly.  “She’s a special one.”

You gratefully accept the box and turn it around, grinning widely as you take in the doll, clad in an old-style space suit, holding a pink flag with a tiny planet Earth on it.

“A 1994 Astronaut Barbie!”  You exclaim excitedly.  “I don’t have one of these!”

Glancing up at the shopkeeper’s kind, smiling face, you bite your lip.

“Can I take her out?”  You ask, not unlike a child might.

“Of course,” he replies.  “Someone with a fondness as deep as yours for these dolls will no doubt be good to her.”

You nod enthusiastically and set the box down, carefully prying it open without damaging any of the flaps and pulling the plastic tray out from within it.  You hold the tray in one hand and carefully undo the wire twist ties holding the doll in place with the other, pulling them out and setting them aside as you finally free her from her confines.

“I love her,” you say in a hushed tone.  “She’s perfect.  She would fit right in with my other ones.”

As you smooth down her hair and run your fingertips over the insignia on her uniform, you don’t realize that Leonard is watching you, his heart bursting with fondness for you.  As the minutes pass by, you know you’ll have to put her back soon but you really don’t want to let her go.  You’re just about to ask how much she’s going to cost you when Leonard puts a hand on your shoulder.

“Pack her up, sweetheart,” he says softly.  “We’re going to be late for dinner.”

Nodding, you look around for the shopkeeper but he seems to have disappeared from view.  With a sad smile, you put the doll back in her box and carefully twist the ties holding everything together back into place.

“Can you please find that nice gentleman for me?”  You ask.  “I need to have her, Len.  I’m buying her.”

Leonard smiles and leans in to press a gentle kiss to your lips.  Your heart flutters at the display of affection and your hands fumble with the flaps on the box as you move to close it all up again, having slid the plastic tray into place.

“No you’re not,” Leonard says lightly.  “Because I’ve already bought her for you.”

You nearly drop the box in surprise as you gape at him.

“Seriously?!”  You gasp.

Leonard laughs in that rich baritone of his and nods, clapping you on the shoulder.

“Seriously,” he replies.

You set the box down on the counter and throw your arms around him, pulling him into a tight embrace and burying your face in his chest.

“Thank you,” you murmur appreciatively.

“Anything for my baby girl,” Leonard replies, pressing a kiss into your hair.  “Now come on, we need to get going or we really are going to be late for dinner.”

Pulling away from him, you pick up the box with one hand, holding it close to your chest, and hook your free arm through his.  Together the two of you walk back out into the unrelenting heat with love in both of your hearts.


	21. Diana Prince x Reader - Pets

You drain the last of the frappuccino you’re holding, pushing the last few clumps of ice crystals at the bottom of it around with your straw as you and Diana stroll through the mall, the three free hands between the two of you overburdened with shopping bags.  You feel a bit like a truant for skipping work to go shopping, but when you’d awakened that morning and groaned about not wanting to go to work, Diana had suggested a girls’ day out and you couldn’t resist her warmth and enthusiasm, so you had called in sick.

Diana had spent half of the morning pampering you.  She’d washed your hair in the shower, rubbed the tension out of your shoulders, and done your makeup for you - something you’d never really gotten the hang of yourself.  Between the look and Diana’s insistence that you look beautiful, you feel confident and put together, and you hold your head high as the two of you stroll through the mall.

 You’re just about to suggest that the two of you head to the food court for lunch when Diana raises a hand, pointing to a pet store across the way.

“Let’s go see the animals!”  She suggests brightly, and you follow her lead with a nod.

Her enthusiasm is infectious and you find yourself grinning as she practically bounds over to the large glass puppy enclosure at the front of the store.  You toss out your empty coffee cup and join her, watching her as she watches the pups, her head tilted like she’s really intently focused on them.  You feel a flush of affection for her as she sinks to her knees, coming face to face with the pups on the low platform.

“They are so sweet,” she murmurs with a smile.  “I would take them all home with us.”

You chuckle and shake your head.

“Where will we keep them all when they grow up?”  You countered.  “They won’t be this size forever!”

“They will grow up to be loyal friends,” Diana offers.  “They would keep us safe and give us unconditional love and friendship.”

You roll your eyes good-naturedly.

“I already have you for that,” you tease.  “Come on; if you’re serious about wanting a pet, let’s go look at something more manageable.”

You nudge her in the direction of a smaller enclosure with thin metal bars on it.  At the bottom, a group of kittens are batting around a toy mouse and falling over one another in a large, writhing, squirming ball of fur.  You watch the kittens for a moment, glancing over at Diana as she finally pulls herself away from the puppies and joins you.  You follow her gaze, noticing she’s not looking at the playful kittens, and find it settled on a solitary, snow-white bunch of fluff curled up in the hammock near the top of the enclosure.

“Would you like to hold her?”  A male voice suddenly says, and the two of you look at the employee who has just approached.

“I don’t want to disturb her sleep,” Diana says gently, so as not to wake the kitten.

He shakes his head with a smile.

“They get plenty of sleep, ma’am,” he assures her.  “She won’t mind.”

Diana bites her lip for a moment, glancing at the kitten then back at the employee, and nods.  As he opens the cage to retrieve the animal, Diana thrusts the bags she’s holding at you.  You take them and let out a soft  _oof_  at the weight of them all, stooping so that you can lighten the load a little by setting them on the ground without releasing the handles.

When you glance up again, Diana is holding the sweet little kitten in her hands, nose to nose, staring into its sleepy blue eyes.  She’s murmuring softly to it, so softly that you can’t make out what she’s saying, and gently ruffling one of its ears with her thumb.  What you  _can_  hear is purring - constant, vigorous purring, like the cat has never been so happy in its few weeks of life.

“I will call her Aello,” Diana decides.  “After the first warrior who rose against Heracles to defend my mother.”

Relinquishing your hold on the bags, you leave them aside and approach Diana, who is still intently studying the kitten.  Reaching up, you gently scratch behind the little cat’s ears and smile when she tips her head back, mouth open, tiny fangs out, to receive your affections.

“I take it that means we have a cat now,” you say wryly.

Diana looks at you, scandalized.

“I cannot leave her here,” she says firmly.  “She is a goddess and should be treated as such.  I will not risk losing her to a home less loving than the one we will provide her.”

With an equally adoring and exasperated smile, you look over at the employee.

“Can you get the adoption paperwork started, please?”  You ask.  “Looks like we’re not leaving empty-handed.”

He nods and slips away, leaving you with Diana.  You tell her you’re going to pick out some essentials from the nearby aisles but you doubt she’s even heard you as she tucks the kitten into the neckline of her double-breasted wool coat,  holding it close and assuring it that it’ll make a great warrior one day.

Ten minutes later, you’ve gathered all you’ll need to take care of the kitten for the first few weeks and persuaded Diana over to the till, lugging all of your mutual shopping bags over.  With the kitten still tucked into her coat, Diana co-signs the adoption papers with you and graciously thanks the employee that has been helping you.

You reach down to pick up all of the bags, bracing yourself for the walk to the car, figuring Diana’s attention will remain on the kitten.  A moment later, however, she stoops down beside you, taking the little kitten carrier from beside your collection of bags and opening it up.  She rifles through one of the pet store bags until she finds one of the paw print blankets you’ve chosen for the animal and pads the bottom of the carrier with it before throwing in one of the soft foam mouse toys, too.  Once finished, she removes the now-sleeping kitten from her coat and gently deposits it in the carrier before closing the door.

“She needs a lot of rest if she is to grow up big and strong,” Diana says lightly.  “Allow me to help you.”

She holds the carrier in one hand and picks up half of the shopping bags with the other as though it’s no bother at all, and you shake your head with a wry smile.  You love that she completely forgets how strong she is sometimes, and that it’s always so earnestly.  It’s endearing and you love her for it.

Picking up your own bags, you follow Diana as she strides out of the store, heading toward the entrance near which you’re parked.  She’s still murmuring softly to the kitten in the carrier even though the little creature is fast asleep and you can’t help but smile in excitement as you think about how wonderful it’s going to be watching Diana raise the little bugger in her own special way.


End file.
